


If The Fates Allow

by angellwings



Series: Liv [1]
Category: Timeless (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, Developing Relationship, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship/Love, Holidays, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-12
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-16 19:43:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16960332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angellwings/pseuds/angellwings
Summary: Follow Lucy and Wyatt from Christmas 2018 through to Christmas 2019 as they try to navigate their lives, time travel, and Rittenhouse together. Fragment series. Lyatt.





	1. Christmas Eve 2018

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** Hello! Okay, so originally this was going to be one epic one shot BUT I very much doubt I will be getting this done in time for that (I wanted to have the one shot posted by 12/20). So, instead, we're doing this like 13 days of Christmas. I have 13 fragments planned, one for each month beginning on Christmas Eve 2018 and ending on Christmas Eve 2019. I will be posting one a day. (Or trying to). Some will be short and some will be long. Some will be fluffy and some will be dramatic, but they all tell the story of Lucy and Wyatt over the course of a year as they try to navigate a relationship. Hopefully you guys enjoy it!
> 
> Happy Reading!
> 
> Angellwings

* * *

" _From now on, our troubles will be miles away._

_Here we are as in olden days._

_Happy golden days of yore._

_Faithful friends who are dear to us,_

_Gather near to us once more._

_Through the years we all will be together,_

_If the Fates allow._

_So hang a shining star upon the highest bough,_

_And have yourself a merry little Christmas now."_

_-"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland_

* * *

_Christmas Eve 2018_

Rufus and Jiya were up to something. Wyatt hadn't quite figured out what, but they spent Christmas Eve exchanging secretive glances and smirks. It left him very suspicious, especially when they disappeared a few hours ago while he and Lucy were stuck with dish duty.

Speaking of Lucy, in the months since they saved Rufus things had improved drastically. He hadn't said those three words again. She knew how he felt so the ball was entirely in her court and he knew having her return his feelings was a very big ask. But he no longer felt things with Lucy were hopeless. She had given him plenty of encouragement over the last several months. They were back to little touches and little gestures with the occasional heart to heart. He was happy with that for now. It was a miracle that she was even talking to him at all, he knew.

He was grateful for every ounce of her time he could get. He missed her so much while they'd been separated. He missed talking to her, listening to her, and just being there for her to lean on. He was slowly earning that back. They were in a good place now. So good that every so often he thought he saw a longing in Lucy that matched his own. But it was hard to tell whether or not that was wishful thinking.

With their friends prying eyes constantly watching them tonight, Lucy had stuck close to his side. They were currently sitting side by side on the couch with her side and legs pressed into his in the most inviting way.

She rolled her eyes and nodded toward Jiya.

"You think they're being weird too, right?" She asked.

"Definitely weird," He answered.

"They look so proud of themselves and I'm a little scared," Lucy admitted.

Wyatt chuckled at at her and nodded. "Whatever it is can't be any worse than time travel."

"This is true. I'll take anything over time travel," Lucy agreed with a sigh. "The wonder of 1937 New Jersey feels so far away now."

"I don't know, sometimes it's still amazing," he said with an encouraging smile. "Sometimes we meet people like Wendell Scott and Hedy Lamar and time travel feels... _fun_ again."

"Other times we travel with future versions of ourselves that completely terrify me to my core," she said quietly. He knew the hardness of her future counterpart scared her. She feared what events would transpire that might turn her into the woman of fire and steel who had stood along side his future self like a born soldier.

"You don't have to become her, Lucy," Wyatt assured her. "You can be whoever you want to be. You don't have to be her or the Lucy from the journal or even the Lucy you used to be. You can be whoever it feels _right_ to be. I hope you know that."

She smiled softly at him and nodded. "I do and if I ever forget I know I can trust you to remind me. You're good at that."

"I just want you to be happy," Wyatt said modestly. "That's it."

"That's more than anyone else has wanted for me in a long time so, whether you know it or not, that's _important_. Thank you," she told him as she rested her head against his shoulder.

He smiled fondly at her and dared to put an arm around her. She leaned further into him, wrapping her arms around his middle. It was this closeness that he treasured most. He would never take it for granted again. Not with her. She yawned and her lids blinked heavily. It was late and Rufus and Jiya had insisted on treating today like an all day long Christmas party. They'd played party games and decorated ornaments and cookies and every possible Christmas activity the pair could dream up. It had been a good day, but a _long_ day.

She was nearly asleep on his shoulder before he finally found the will to suggest she go to bed. Rufus had begged Wyatt to let Jiya stay in their room tonight and after everything he put the team through earlier in the year Wyatt couldn't say no. He was sleeping on the couch tonight and he was fine with that. It also meant Lucy would have her and Jiya's room to herself and she needed rest more than any of them.

"Come on, Sleepyhead," Wyatt said with a chuckle. "Let me walk you to your room. You should probably get some sleep."

"I'm good here," she mumbled as she snuggled further into him.

He rolled his eyes and then allowed himself to press a kiss to the top of her head. "As much as I would like that, this would not be a comfortable position to sleep in all night long, Professor. Come on, it's just down the hall. You can make it."

She let out a low whine but eventually pulled her head from his shoulder. "Fine. But if you're making me sleep in a bed then you are too. You can take Jiya's cot tonight."

"I'm fine on the couch."

"No, you're not. I've slept out here, remember? This couch is awful," she said with a roll of her eyes and a scoff. "The cots aren't great but they're most supportive than this piece of junk."

"I don't know, Lucy—"

"If you don't agree to stay then I'm not moving. We'll both have to sleep on the couch," she insisted with a quirked brow. "Is that what you want? Do you want me to sleep sitting up on this government issue, minimally cushioned piece of antique furniture?"

She had him there and she knew it. "Okay. Fine. If that's what you want."

"It is what I want. It's exactly what I want," she said as she patted his knee with a reassuring smile. "The best part is, if we leave now then we can avoid Rufus and Jiya and their weirdness. So, come on. Let's go, solider. I'm ready to call it a night."

She stood first and waited for him to join her. Once they began walking she looped her arm through his.

"I know this Christmas probably isn't any of our ideas of a perfect Christmas," Lucy said softly as they reached her door. "But I'm glad we're all here together. If we weren't in this bunker I'd be out there all alone—"

"No, you wouldn't," Wyatt said with a shake of his head. "Where ever you ended up I'd be with you. There's no one else I'd rather spend my Christmas with, Luce."

"Really?" She asked him. Until a month or two ago her tone would have been skeptical, but this tone was hopeful - _wishful_.

"Really," he promised.

Lucy moved to open her door and a low hanging decoration smacked her in the forehead. "What the—" she froze as the leafy green sprig came into view and swallowed thickly. "That wasn't there when I left my room this morning."

He too recognized the tell-tale white berries and red ribbon. _Mistletoe_.

"Rufus and Jiya," Wyatt said with a chuckle. "This is where they disappeared to and why Rufus was so insistent on letting Jiya stay in our room tonight. Figures."

"There's no one around to see if we just...skip it," Lucy said as she cleared her throat awkwardly. "I mean I know this has got to be weird and we've been through a lot this year and the last time that we...well we were in a very different place so I'd totally understand if you weren't up for it. No pressure or anything."

He let her ramble and watched her with an affectionate grin. He felt no awkwardness about kissing Lucy. He didn't want the out she was trying to give him. But this situation was tricky and as eager as he was to kiss her again, he wouldn't force it. She was what he wanted, but he had to be sure he was what she wanted too.

"I'm not feeling any pressure and I don't think it would be weird," he told her honestly. "But if you'd rather not then—"

He never got to finish his sentence. Before he could she sprung across the distance between them, wrapped her arms around his neck, and caught his lips with hers. Her hold was tight and her lips were insistent. He was more than happy to oblige. They stood in the doorway and under the mistletoe, kissing and kissing and kissing some more, until breathing became an issue.

Lucy released him with a labored exhale and then leaned back against the door frame. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were slightly swollen. She looked very well kissed and he couldn't help but smirk at her appearance. It was a good look for her.

She cleared her throat and then reached out to wipe something off of his chin. She chuckled softly as she did and then grinned at him. "My lipstick is all over your face."

"Yeah? Is it a good shade on me or…"

She laughed and stepped closer again. "It definitely compliments your skin tone." The hand that had swiped across his chin was now skimming across his cheek and then back into his hair. "But maybe, I should wash it off and we could try this again. Somewhere a little more comfortable would be best."

His eyebrows rose curiously. "You sure you want that?" He was up for it if she was. But he wanted to know for sure it was what she wanted. "We can go inside and talk for all I care. I don't want you to do something you're not ready for."

She smiled warmly at him and then pulled him in for another kiss. This one was slower and more heated. Without any prompting from him she deepened the kiss. He felt her tongue run across his bottom lip and he knew what that meant. He knew what this kiss meant. She wanted this. She wanted _him_. She pulled him inside of the room and then used the hand that wasn't running through his hair to close the door.

She pulled away very slightly. Their noses and foreheads were touching as she spoke. "I've had all the time I want to think, Wyatt. You've been wonderful and so patient. Thank you for respecting that, but it's over now. I know what I want and who I need and that's _you_."

"Thank God," Wyatt said in relief before he pulled her flush against him and brought her lips back down to his.

No further discussion was needed. For once they were on the exact same page at the exact same time and he planned to enjoy it.


	2. January 2019

_January 2019_

Lucy didn't want to make a spectacle of her birthday. He could understand that. He stopped caring about celebrating his birthday the year he lost Jessica. Even all these years later. Lucy lost her mother in the year between this birthday and her last and this was her second birthday without Amy. But it was still her birthday. Without that day he wouldn't have her in his life now. He couldn't let it pass without any recognition.

So, he asked Jiya to switch rooms with him the night before, mostly in order to manage the noise level this morning. Lucy rarely had a chance to sleep in. She was getting that chance today. Even if he was stuck as her pillow while she slept. She was practically laying on top of him, which wasn't unusual given how tiny their cots were. Today was going to be the day where he did whatever she wanted to do. He didn't care what it was. He was going to let her sleep until she woke up on her own and then let her determine where the day took them.

Not that it could take them very far. They were still trapped in a tin can.

Lucy agreed to dinner with the entire bunker that night as a compromise to Jiya's insistence that they have a party. She requested Italian for dinner which Christopher would be ordering and bringing to them. But that wouldn't be until at least six o'clock that night. There was still plenty of time to fill.

Lucy shifted against him and snuggled closer. He grinned at the happy hum she let out in her sleep and then kissed the crown of her head. He pulled the blanket tighter around them when his hand caressed over Lucy's arm and felt raised chill bumps. The Bunker could be chilly in the early morning and late at night and it wasn't as if there were any layers between them to add additional warmth. They had managed a bit of an early birthday celebration the night before and, if he remembered correctly, Lucy's underwear and borrowed t-shirt had ended up tossed across the room somewhere.

He closed his eyes and let himself drift back to sleep. If he couldn't get up then he might as well get more rest himself, and there was nothing more restful than sleeping next to Lucy Preston.

Later, he awoke to a hand running through his hair and another over his arm. He opened bleary eyes to find her flashing him a peaceful smile. The room was warmer and brighter than the first time he woke up. He wasn't sure if it was because the sun was higher in the sky or because Lucy was awake.

"Good morning," she said as brushed a stray hair off of his forehead.

Her hand came to rest on his cheek. He turned his head to kiss her palm before he spoke. "Morning." He grinned lazily as he took in her mussed hair and wide expanses of bare skin. She looked perfectly imperfect and he loved it. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," she told him as she returned his grin. "Did you let me sleep in? It feels later than normal."

He nodded and then nuzzled her neck, peppering the curve of it with soft kisses.

"Well, thank you, but really I have so much research to—"

"No, not today," Wyatt said firmly. "We're both taking today off."

"I don't think we get days off," Lucy said with a scoff.

"Fine, barring any time jumps by Emma or—someone." The avoidance of Jessica's name was painfully obvious, but Lucy mercifully let it slide. "We're both taking today off."

They hadn't actually seen Jessica in months but Emma made sure to taunt them with her whenever possible. They knew she was still involved with Rittenhouse.

"Wyatt, I thought I asked—"

"I know, I know. No spectacle," he repeated. "This isn't spectacle. This is a low key one day vacation. You deserve it, Luce. You know you do."

"Vacation?" She asked with an intrigued quirk of her brow.

He nodded. "Today we do whatever you want to do - that _isn't_ work related."

"Whatever I want to do?" She asked skeptically. He nodded again. "No matter what it is?"

"No matter what it is," he promised. "As long as it has nothing to do with time travel or Rittenhouse."

"If I wanted to find a book and do nothing but read?"

"I'd make us tea and find a book to read myself," he answered with a grin.

"If I wanted to park myself on the couch and watch romantic comedies all day?"

He didn't think that would be so bad. Some of those movies weren't awful. "I would do it with minimal complaints."

"If I wanted to marathon Real Housewives?"

Now for that he had to bite back a groan. He hated reality television. Plus they always seemed to be in the midst of a personal crisis on those shows and he'd been directly involved in enough of those. But if that was what Lucy wanted then…

"I would...be confused as hell but I would try my best to be interested if that's how you really wanted to spend your birthday."

Lucy laughed and then scrubbed her hands across his stubble. "I'm kidding. I would never do that to you. I just wanted to see what you would say."

"Did I pass the test, Professor?" He asked her with a bored expression.

She chuckled and kissed his cheek. "With flying colors."

"Glad to hear it," He replied with a roll of his eyes and an amused grin.

"Because you passed, I think I know exactly what I want to do today," Lucy told him as squinted her eyes at him and bit her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah?" He asked. "What's that?"

Lucy shifted under the covers until she could put one knee on either side him. She straddled his lap and then leaned over him, her body and her hair created a curtain all around them. Her eyes were dark and her smile was sultry as she placed her lips on the hinge of his jaw and then kissed backward until she could nibble lightly at his ear.

He felt her lips against him before she whispered in hungry tone. "You."

He smirked and turned his head swiftly to catch her lips with his in a searing kiss. He brought his hands up around her back so he could press her flush against him and then flipped their positions in one quick move. Lucy let out a short yelp and then a rolling laugh.

"Impressive," she said through her laughter as she hooked her legs around his.

He kissed a fiery trail down her neck and smirked against her warm skin as he replied. "Well, you know, special forces and all."

She laughed again and then sucked in a breath as he reached the valley between her breasts. "They teach _this_ in Army Special Forces? Really? That seems a little excessive."

"Well, not _this_ necessarily but they teach us all the qualities required to be exceptional at it," he replied as he rested his head against her chest and looked up at her.

Her cheeky smile focused on him as her hands went into his hair. "Oh yeah? Like what?"

"Stamina," he said with a wink.

"Mhm," she agreed with a snicker. "What else?"

"Focus," he said as his hands flitted down her sides to squeeze her ass teasingly. "Determination."

"Check and check," she replied with a crooked smile. "What else?"

"Confidence-"

"Yeah, a little too much of that if you ask me," Lucy said with a playful roll of her eyes.

He moved his grip from her ass to her waist and yanked her down toward him suddenly. She let out a noise between a laugh and a shout as he leaned over her with half of a grin. "And a general athletic prowess, which one of us lacks."

She smacked his arms and chuckled with a look of feigned shock. "You are such a jerk. I can't believe I'm in love with you."

His muscles tensed and his eyes widened. They'd been doing _this_ , this flirtatious pseudo-dating thing, for a month now and he'd never once brought up his feelings for her. He didn't want to pressure her into returning the words and he assumed she would tell him when or if she was ever ready to really love him. Judging by the shocked look on her face that mirrored his own, he wagered now was not how she imagined saying those words.

"You...you are?" Wyatt asked hesitantly. His hesitancy was a combination of disbelief and pessimism. He had lousy luck. Would it really all change now?

Her face softened considerably once he asked that question and he watched her shock fade. Her hands came up to frame his face with that same peaceful smile she was wearing when he first woke up. Her eyes watered and she swallowed thickly, but slowly she nodded an affirmative confirmation to his question.

"I am. I have been for a while now," she admitted bashfully. "Probably longer than you realize - probably _embarrassingly_ longer than you realize."

"You really love me?" He asked again. "I—I don't want you to feel like you have to just because I—"

"I don't feel pressured, Wyatt," Lucy said with a contented sigh and a shake of her head. "I love you. I genuinely love you with everything that I have."

"I love you too, Lucy," he said on a relieved exhale. "I want this. I want _you_ for as long as you'll have me."

"Trust me, Wyatt, I'm gonna _have you_ for a very long time," she said as her serene smile turned wolfish and she pulled his lips down to hers. She leaned back briefly to speak. The wolfish smile was still on her face. "Best. Birthday. Ever."

It wasn't his birthday, but he certainly agreed.


	3. February 2019 (or April 1789)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** This is the fluffiest thing I think I have ever written in my LIFE, lol. But I'm good with that. Fair warning, though, tomorrow's will involve some drama. Because I can't help myself.
> 
> ALSO, MY US FRIENDS, TUNE INTO SNL TONIGHT ON NBC. THE OFFICIAL TWITTER SAID WE'D BE GETTING SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN ASKING FOR AND WE ALL KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. PROMO! AHHH!
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> angellwings

This wasn't exactly how Wyatt had hoped to spend his first Valentines Day with Lucy, but they had a job to do no matter how inconvenient the timing. They landed in the past and began the trek toward any signs of civilization. Lucy knew the date. The next day the votes in America's first election would be counted and Washington would be voted the first President of the United States. They had already made their way through town and stolen clothes, but Emma had discovered them and chased them off.

They stumbled across an empty cabin in the woods. Clearly no one had lived in it for many years but it would be good enough for the night. The fireplace was lit inside and a fire was lit outside. Wyatt would be keeping watch around the fire outside.

Wyatt poked at the embers of the fire and tried to stoke it, all while working hard not to pout about his ruined plans. In the fridge of the Bunker were the elements for a steak dinner. He could make it when they got back but when they got back it wouldn't be Valentines Day. They couldn't go out, but he'd made plans. Plans to cook for her, plans to switch rooms with Jiya, plans to borrow Mason's record player (and a collection of records from the 1940s curated by Mason himself) - actual romantic _plans._ Sure, he could still make them happen but it wouldn't be the same.

"What are you so upset about?"

He looked up to find Lucy standing next to the log he was sitting on. He set aside the stick he'd been using on the fire and then leaned back on his hands with a sad smile.

"Nothing."

Lucy chuckled dryly and shook her head. "Bullshit."

He grunted to confirm the truth in her statement. She sat down next to him with a tired sigh. He watched as she reached for her narrow heeled boots and unlaced them. She tossed one aside, revealing a thick white stocking, and then threw her leg over his thighs.

"I hate these boots," she said with a grimace as she rid herself of the second one. "Even if they fit properly they would feel like torture."

Her second leg joined her first and then she leaned back on her elbows to look at him.

"So, what is it?" She asked again. "Why are you pouting?"

"We left the present on Valentines Day," he answered with a huff.

She narrowed her eyes at him for a split second before realization dawned. "Did you...make plans for us?"

"Not that it matters now," He grumbled.

She smiled brightly at him and, he thought, even if his plans fell through her smile made it worth it. "Can't say I was expecting that."

He brought his hands to rest on her legs and then grinned sheepishly at her. "I have historically not been the best at Valentines Day. I wanted that to be different with you. But I guess that was too much to ask."

She chuckled at him. "Are you giving up already? That doesn't sound like the soldier I know. We'll have time when we get back."

"By the time we get back, it won't be Valentines, Luce."

She knew he was right. They left just after three in the afternoon and they'd already been gone four hours. They'd have to wait out Emma until at least daybreak, which was six hours away. Even if they resolved things quickly, they'd never make it back before midnight.

"Okay," she said as she bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. "Then let's celebrate now."

"Now?" He asked as he quirked a brow at her. "In the middle of the woods, in front of a creepy abandoned cabin?"

"Oh come on," she said with a pointed stare. "It's not that creepy. If you think about it, this is pretty romantic actually." He looked around them and then at her as if she'd gone insane. She rolled her eyes and then elaborated. "We're alone, for starters. Our double date is inside being disgustingly nerdy. It's quiet here. We never have quiet in the bunker. There is always something rumbling or rattling in that junk heap. Here, we just have the sounds of the crickets and the frogs. Not only that, but have you looked up? You don't see stars like this at home," she said as she pointed up at the night sky. "It's gorgeous. If you ever wanted to set the mood, Mr. Logan, this would do it."

He looked up and around the clearing the cabin was nestled in before meeting her eyes. "Yeah, I guess it's not bad. It would be better with a steak dinner and the hits of Ella Fitzgerald that I had planned but sure. This could work, I guess."

Lucy laughed at his lukewarm tone and nudged him lightly with her feet. "You're so dramatic sometimes, do you know that?"

"I borrowed Mason's records and some of his collection and they're sitting in your room in the bunker, totally useless," he said with a sigh. "You can't dance to crickets."

Lucy's brows rose and her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Dancing?"

"We never get to and I thought...I thought you might like it," Wyatt admitted bashfully.

She nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "I would love it."

"See? And now we don't get to so—"

"Who says?" She asked him with a furrowed brow. "We don't need music to dance, Wyatt." She paused and then grinned slowly at him. "And if we do need music, we'll make it ourselves."

"Make it ourselves?" He asked in confusion.

"I'll show you," she told him as she lightly swatted at his arm. "Stand up and dance with me."

She reached for her boots but Wyatt tightened his grip on her legs. "You don't need those."

"Um, I'm not gonna stand in the wet grass with my stockings—"

"No, you're not," He told her with a smirk. "You can stand on my feet."

"I'm not gonna stand on your feet. That's ridiculous," she replied immediately.

He lifted a brow and gave her an amused yet impatient glance. "If those shoes hurt then you should keep them off until you have no other choice. It's fine."

"What if I hurt you?" She asked him with a skeptical glance.

He let out a short bark of laughter and then grinned at her. "Lucy, you weigh maybe ninety pounds. I think my feet are safe."

She kicked him half heartedly. "I weigh more than ninety pounds!"

"You sure about that, Babydoll?" He asked her a knowing grin.

"...No," she answered with an unsure tone. "But ninety pounds could still be painful, _Sweetheart_."

"I'm pretty sure I can handle it," he told her with a smile and a roll of his eyes. He moved her legs and then stood in front of her with his hands outstretched. "Come on, give me your hands and place your feet on mine."

She looked very unsure but did as he asked. He pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her waist as she coiled hers around his neck. As he suspected, she was light as a feather.

"Are you okay?" She asked him worriedly.

"No," he said with a deadpan expression. "You have broken both my feet and I'll never be able to walk again."

"Funny," she replied as she pulled back from their embrace to glare at him.

He laughed and then tucked her into him again. "Relax, Lucy. I'm fine. Now, weren't you going to show me how we could make our own music to dance to?"

"Oh, that's easy," she told him with a warm smile. "Just dance to the rhythm of your heartbeat."

She nestled her head against his shoulder and leaned into him. She moved a hand from behind his neck to place it over his heart. He felt her breathing deeply for several moments before she began tapping out a steady thumping beat on his chest. He moved to the beat with Lucy held securely in his arms. They swayed in time with his heartbeat and the lullaby of the wildlife around them in complete silence. Turned out, Lucy was absolutely right. This place was romantic, peaceful, and _blissfully_ quiet.

It was just the two of them, heartbeat against heartbeat, embracing as they danced. Her hand continued to softly pat against his chest along with the thrumming of his heart. He moved one hand from her waist to cover her hand that rested on his chest. She sighed contentedly and squeezed.

"Maybe this isn't what you had planned," she said in a soft voice. "But this is all I've ever wished for. You and me, all alone. It's perfect. Steak dinner or not."

He closed his eyes and held her tighter. "The steak dinner would be nice though," he said with a light chuckle.

Her chuckle joined his and then they went quiet again. Lucy wasn't quiet for long though. Eventually, she began to hum while they danced. He placed the tune immediately and felt the memory of it squeezing the heart that had previously been their instrumental. He sucked in a breath and kissed the top of her head as it rested against him. He hadn't heard that song since the night she sang it to him.

Her humming became quiet singing and the words struck him just as they had the very first time he heard them. If ever a song was written for them, it was that one.

" _You made me cry for,_

_I didn't want to tell you,_

_I didn't want to tell you._

_I want some love that's true._

_Yes, I do, 'deed I do,_

_You know I do._

_Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme what I cry for._

_You know you've got the brand of kisses,_

_That I'd die for,_

_You know you made me love you."_

Her voice was barely more than a whisper intended for only them. It was intimate and, to him, more meaningful than watching her perform to a room full of Old Hollywood movie stars. She was just as glamorous bathed in moonlight and firelight as she had been in that dress with those stunning red lips.

He complained about being stuck here and he was disappointed his plans had fallen through, but as always with Lucy the reality exceeded anything he ever imagined.

He halted his swaying and when the movement stopped she pulled her head from his shoulder to look up at him. His head tilted down to hers and he nuzzled her nose before giving her a wide smile.

"Have I ever told you how much I love that song?" He asked her.

"No," she answered with a grin. "But the dumbstruck look on your face last time kind of gave you away."

He chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess it did."

She lifted a hand to his face and idly caressed a hand across his cheek. "You don't have to make big plans for Valentines Day, Wyatt. All you have to do is be _here_ \- with me. Okay?"

"Okay," he replied. "I love you, Lucy."

She leaned up on to the balls of her feet and captured his lips in a deep and lingering kiss. "I love you too. Happy Valentines Day."

"Happy Valentines Day."


	4. March 2019

The Lifeboat navigation had experienced an error while landing and they'd missed the Bunker. Somehow, not a few feet from where they'd landed was the Mothership. Rufus muttered something about the CPUs being linked and some sort of temporal short in the flux capacitor causing them to end up in the same place. Not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered was that their enemy was literally at their front door. Anything could happen the minute they opened that hatch.

"Can we just...go? You know, take off?" Lucy asked as they all stared warily at the round metal door.

"We could try but there's no guarantee we won't take them with us," Rufus told them with a nervous gulp.

Wyatt's gaze narrowed on the pilot as a thought struck him. "And vice versa?" He asked.

Rufus sighed tiredly and nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, hell no," Lucy said with a glare. "We can't let them jump."

Wyatt huffed and nodded. "Yeah, I get that, but we don't know what's on the other side of that hatch. They could be waiting on us."

"Or they're prepping to jump right now and we're all going to end up reciting some psycho propaganda in our sleep because we'll be along for the ride to Rittenhouse HQ," Rufus said dryly with a forced smile. "It's only my worst nightmare. So, sure we can just chill in here."

"He does have a point," Lucy said to Wyatt with a pointed glance.

Wyatt gave them both an exasperated look before letting out a low growl and nodding reluctantly. "Fine." He pulled his spare gun out of his shoulder holsters and handed it to Lucy. "Take that," he told her as he caught her eyes with a meaningful look. "Stick close to me. Okay?" He waited for her to nod and then turned to Rufus. "You keep that door closed and fix the short in the flux temporal capacitor whatever and do not come out until you're ready to go, got that?"

"Trust me, I don't want be out there just as much as you don't want me out there," Rufus told him with a vigorous nod. "You'll have to keep the Mothership here for at least ten minutes. I have to diagnose the problem before I can fix it."

"Perfect," Wyatt snapped with a roll of his eyes. "Just gotta keep who knows how many murderous psychos busy for ten minutes. Hope I have enough bullets. Both of you take cover away from the door," he ordered as he motioned them away from the curved entrance.

The hatch opened painfully slowly but only silence met them. Wyatt peeked out around the door and found an empty clearing. On the other side of the clearing sat a gleaming white orb, with the door wide open.

"They're out there somewhere, I doubt they'll leave the Mothership unguarded," Wyatt whispered. "We need to get out there and get this door closed."

He climbed down first and when no shot whizzed by his head he turned and helped Lucy down. He gripped her hand and pulled her toward a grouping of trees to the left of the Lifeboat as the Rufus closed the door behind them.

"I haven't seen anyone," Lucy said quietly.

Wyatt's eyes narrowed through the trees. He could feel eyes watching them. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "They're here. I just wish I knew who and how many."

"Personally, I'd be a little more worried about where."

His blood ran cold and his jaw clenched. That wasn't Emma.

 _Jessica_.

He spun and pulled Lucy behind him. He gave her the gun but he would prefer it if she didn't have to use it. Not until he taught her how to shoot properly, at least.

"Long time no see, Wyatt," she said with a smirk.

She looked exactly the same as the last time he'd seen her nearly a year ago. Her hair was longer and closer to her natural shade of blonde, but that was the only difference. No additional weight. In fact, she seemed thinner. Not a single trace of motherly _anything_ in her eyes. She looked determined and hard. Whatever soft edges she'd pretended to have, while living with him in the bunker, were gone. She had a gun in her hand but it wasn't pointed at them. She held it at her side.

Her gaze scanned over Lucy from head to toe. Wyatt knew she'd see at least one discolored mark on Lucy's neck. He may have gotten carried away during their down time on the mission and left one behind. Jessica would know exactly what it was.

As he predicted her eyes hesitated over Lucy's neck before she nodded at her with a cold expression. "Lucy. I see you're taking excellent care of my husband while I'm away, but then...you always have, haven't you?"

To her credit Lucy didn't flinch, but he felt her grip on his hand tighten.

A grin tugged at Lucy's lips. They were a faded shade of red from the lipstick he kissed off of her just hours earlier.

"Husband?" She asked with a challenging glare. "That's funny, I don't see a ring."

Their chances of death were already pretty high and, while some part of him was enjoying the snark coming out of Lucy's mouth, he really wished she wouldn't provoke the enemy. Wyatt bit back a groan as Jessica raised her weapon. He hadn't seen Jessica for so long that he had almost convinced himself he never would again. Things were going so well, and with nothing to remind him of his estranged wife and possible child, he almost felt free. He should have known that was too good to last.

He raised his weapon in return, keeping himself solidly in front of Lucy. "Lower your gun, Jessica. We don't have to do this."

"You picked a side, Wyatt, and it was the wrong one. Of course we have to do this," she said with a scoff. Her eyes then met his with a hopeful expression. "Unless you've changed your mind?"

He sighed and shook his head at her. Did she really not understand?

"Where's the baby? Was there even a baby to begin with? You owe me the truth."

Jessica laughed bitterly at him and then rolled her eyes. "The truth? Who the hell even knows what that is anymore?"

There was a shout of Jessica's name from inside the Mothership and a second later he heard the click of the safety on her weapon.

"Time for me to go," she told them. She kept her gun trained on them as she edged away toward the Mothership. "You can tell Rufus that Emma fixed the damn temporal flux thing. You go your way and we'll go ours. No one has to get hurt. Deal? None of us want to be prisoners to the enemy, do we? Although, maybe Lucy wouldn't mind. She's already survived our programming once. I'm sure she could do it again."

Lucy tensed behind him. He couldn't see her face, but he knew this time she'd actually flinched. What did Jessica know about Lucy's time with Rittenhouse? What was Lucy remembering that had her shaken? As curious as he was, that hardly mattered now. He wanted Jessica out of his sight as quickly as possible.

"Go," Wyatt told her through a clenched jaw. "I won't stop you."

"Thanks," she said with a grin and a wink. "See you later, hubby."

" _Ex-hubby_ ," he corrected her with a stern glare.

"Sure, whatever you say," she replied with a chuckle as she turned her back on them and walked away. "Enjoy my leftovers, Lucy. You may not have him for long."

What the hell did that mean?

"That sounds ominous," Lucy said in a hushed tone through gritted teeth.

"Let her talk," Wyatt said with a sigh. "It's all bullshit."

Lies. Manipulation. Deceit. Everything she told him. _Bullshit_.

Lucy tugged at his hand and pulled him toward the Lifeboat as Rufus slid the hatch open. "Come on, let's go home."

He let her lead him away, but he kept his eyes on the Mothership until it vanished from existence. He'd actually believed her. He thought if there was ever one thing she wouldn't lie to him about…

But he was wrong. There was no baby. There never was.

"You guys okay?" Rufus asked as they stepped inside.

Lucy didn't answer but glanced to Wyatt, deferring the question to him.

"Yeah," he answered stoically. "Not a scratch on us. Let's get the hell out of here."

He was the first one out of the Lifeboat once it landed and the first one in the showers. He spent the entire shower analyzing everything Jessica had ever said to him. Every potential lie she told him. He'd been such an idiot. Until earlier that day when his ex-wife was standing opposite him with her gun aimed and her stare impassive. Enough time had passed that she could have had the baby. He could have a child that he'd never met. In fact, he never once questioned whether Jessica actually was pregnant. She had done a lot of things since Rittenhouse revived her but, surely, she wouldn't lie to him about a child. Some part of her must still be the Jessica he knew and that Jessica would never lie to him about a baby, _their baby_.

But if the baby existed, wouldn't she have mentioned it? Wouldn't she have held it over his head the way Emma did with Jessica? Yes, she would have. Her vague answers and her attempts to rattle Lucy told him that. So the fact that she didn't taunt him or try to use his very real concerns against him led him to believe that the baby didn't exist. Jessica was never pregnant. He fell for her lies and manipulations hook, line and sinker. Even now that he knew what she was she still had the ability wreck him.

He passed Lucy as he exited the bathroom in freshly clean sweats. She gently grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Hey," she said softly as she stepped close and ran a hand across his cheek. "You okay?"

His brow furrowed at her for a prolonged moment before he pulled her into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. He had to tell her this. She needed to know. He needed someone to listen. His failures and mistakes and all the ways he'd been blind and naive were swirling around in his brain and unless he told her they had nowhere to go. He could have broken it to her a million different ways but, much like the jackass he had been when he announced it originally, he couldn't seem to find his tact. He felt tears pooling in his eyes as the words ripped from his throat.

"I'm a fucking blind asshole, Lucy."

She blinked at him in surprise, but didn't flinch. He watched as her face transformed from soft surprise to a hard glare. "You aren't."

He laughed bitterly and and scrubbed his hands over his face to try and hold tears at bay. "You were right. You were god damn right. Go ahead say it. You deserve to say it."

Her mouth set in to a firm line and she huffed. "What exactly do you think I deserve to say?"

"I told you so. You deserve to say I told you so."

"Is that what you think I want to say?" She asked him with an offended flinch. "Do you think I _wanted_ to be right about her? Because if that's what you think, Wyatt, then what the hell kind of person do you think I am?"

He winced and shook his head. "That's not what I think. I'm sorry. I didn't mean—I just meant you tried to warn me. You told me to be careful and I—God, I snapped at you. You were just...you were trying to look out for me and I spit in your face." He turned away from her and walked to the other side of the bathroom. "I had all the evidence I needed to prove that she wasn't who she said she was and yet I kept trying. I kept forcing myself to see her as the woman I knew. She was manipulating me from the start - using my guilt against me. Meanwhile you were… **.** "

He couldn't bear to finish his sentence. He didn't want to talk about how Lucy was absolutely constant with her support, even when he didn't deserve it. "There's no baby, Lucy. She was never pregnant. She _used_ me to keep herself alive. And, worse, a part of me knew it all along. Deep down I saw it but I...I forced it to the back of my mind. I willed myself to keep her on a pedestal. I talked myself into believing her. What kind of weak idiot does that?"

He felt a hand on his back, a small soft hand that trailed up the middle until it stopped on the nape of his neck. He felt her shoulder brush his as she came to stand in front of him, all with her hand still on his neck. He looked down and away from her.

Why was she still here? She should have given up on him a long time ago. He'd given up everything for Jessica, made choice after choice in the hopes that she was the person he wanted her to be. Every one of those choices was wrong. The right choice had been right in front of him the whole time and he'd kept himself from reaching out to her. He let his pride and his naive hope keep him from admitting, even to himself, that he'd made the wrong choice.

"Wyatt, I need you to listen to me, and I mean _listen_. Okay?"

He couldn't look at her, but he could hear the thickness in her voice. When he didn't look up he felt one of her hands on his cheek. Her thumb absently trailed across his skin and then she moved her hand to his chin and nudged his head up so she could see his eyes. In turn, he could see hers. They were just as red and raw as his own.

"You are not an idiot or weak or an asshole or anything else you've let her convince you of," Lucy assured him. Her hand moved back to his cheek and she caressed it tenderly. "You trusted her because she was someone you loved, someone you mourned, someone who you once thought you might have a future with. You trusted her because you are _good_ and you want the people you care about to be _good_."

She put emphasis on the 'good' with her voice and her hands. The hand on the back of his neck pulled his forehead to hers on the last word of her sentence.

She placed a kiss to his lips before she continued with their foreheads still touching. "You believed her because she is goddamn good at her job. She was trained for this. _For you_. She knew every chink in your armor. Hell, Wyatt, she knew every chink in _my_ armor," she told him as she closed her eyes and pinched her brow in pain.

He could remember a few instances where, looking back, Jessica had been a bit pointed with Lucy. At the time he had chalked it up to Jessica's own insecurities, but now he saw it for what it was - a way to hurt Lucy. That thought brought his hands to her back to rub soft circles over it in attempt to soothe the memories away. She took a moment to gather herself by taking in and releasing unsteady breaths. When she spoke her voice was quiet - wounded - but also determined.

"You weren't the only one she fooled, you know. She fooled me, she fooled Jiya, She fooled Mason. She even fooled a veteran Homeland Security agent. She was well prepared and there isn't any way that we could have braced ourselves for that. You couldn't have braced yourself for fighting your better nature and I wouldn't have wanted you to." Her hands framed his face now and skimmed over his stubble repetitively. She opened her eyes that glistened with heartfelt tears as they met his. "You are a truly good and honorable man, Wyatt Logan, and I love you _because of that_. Don't you dare let her break you now. Not after we've made it this far. Is that clear?"

He felt a tear fall at the soft yet stern tone on her voice. No one else could have pulled that off like her. No one could have said all that and made him believe it _but her_. He was so amazed and in awe of her and her strength that he forgot to answer her.

"Is that clear, soldier?" She repeated firmly with an emotional gulp.

"Clear, ma'am," he replied hoarsely.

If Lucy believed in him then he could do the same. If Lucy forgave him then he could forgive himself. Lucy saw the best in him. It was _Lucy_ that truly loved him. Maybe he made the wrong decision at first, but he owned it and worked hard to make up for it. It took him too damn long, but he made it right. He made things right _with her_. Everything else, including Jessica, was secondary.

"I love you," he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her in a crushing hug. "Thank you."

This was his future. Lucy Preston was his future, his home, his everything. For some reason, the confrontation with Jessica drove that home. It was the final bit of closure on an open wound. He had answers. Not the ones he wanted, but it was better than the never knowing. It took a weight off of his shoulders and he felt freer than he had in long time. The strings between himself and Jessica loosened each and every day. Pretty soon they'd be untied all together and, for the first time, he knew without a doubt that he wanted that day to come. He wanted to let Jessica go. For real this time.

"I love you too," Lucy replied with an empathetic smile.

"Forgive me for taking so long to get my head out of my ass?" He asked with a self deprecating grin and a sniffle.

She ran a thumb across his cheek and flashed him a watery smile. "You were forgiven long before you thought to ask."

He would never understand what hand of fate led him to Lucy Preston or how that same hand kept her around but he was immensely grateful. She saved his life more times than he could count and he had a feeling she would keep on saving his life for as long as he knew her.


	5. April 2019

It all started when Denise brought Lucy the Journal. Turned out they found it in Lucy's belongings the night Rittenhouse took her and it had been locked up in an evidence locker all this time. Denise decided it was time Lucy got it back. Her fear of her future self led her in a direction that surprised him. He thought she would avoid reading the Journal at all costs, but she did the opposite. She read it from cover to cover as soon as it was in her hands.

Something in that journal upset her and, judging by the way she had been looking at him lately, he knew it was about him. But she didn't talk about it. He knew nothing of what was in that Journal and she didn't seem interested in telling him. A week had passed like nothing was wrong, but he knew there was something. She was distant. Still physically present but distant.

He went by her and Jiya's room that morning to talk to her but Jiya told him Lucy wasn't there when she woke up. She'd risen before the rest of them, but he hadn't seen her around the bunker. So, where was she?

Several minutes later, he found himself walking toward the missile silo. The Lifeboat was the last place left to look and the last place she would ever be. As he got closer he could make out faint voices drifting from the open hatch. One was clearly Lucy's. Theg other was deeper. It was a voice that regularly grated on his nerves with sarcastic jabs and unwelcome opinions. _Flynn_.

"You read the Journal," Lucy said with a sigh. "You knew, this whole time you've been here. You knew what happened between mine and Wyatt's future selves. Yet you never said...everything else you've used against me and you didn't use that? Why?"

"What would have been the point?" He asked her. "You read the rest of it, didn't you? The Journal is no longer as useful as it once was. It has some useful intel, sure, but the events are much changed."

"Events change," Lucy agreed softly. "But people may not."

"You are not that Lucy," Flynn said with a bitter laugh. "Trust me. The first time we met I expected to meet that Lucy and you are nothing like her. I tried to force your hand. I tried to make you cruel and hard hearted and I never could. You are not her."

"But she and her Wyatt—"

"Why are you talking to me about this?" Flynn asked with a huff. "Shouldn't you let your Wyatt alleviate these fears?"

Yes, Wyatt thought as his jaw tensed. She should be coming to him about this, whatever it was, and not Flynn.

"He—he hasn't read the Journal. He doesn't know. Besides, he...he's never doubted the way I have. Fate and destiny aren't concerns for him. We've never agreed on that."

They didn't have to agree for him to understand. That wasn't the reason. They had talked about things they disagreed about many times before.

Flynn scoffed. He didn't buy that either. His tone was dry and clipped when he spoke. "Right and it has nothing to do with the possibly pregnant ex-wife or the fact that you're afraid he still might choose her instead of you. Not a single thing to do with that."

"That's what happened in the Journal, isn't it?" She asked harshly. "She and Wyatt tried but they couldn't outrun Jessica and it turned them bitter. By the end of that journal they can barely stand each other. I don't want that to be me. I'd rather end it now if it means we stay friends than prolong it and learn to resent him. She—she seemed to think that she and Wyatt were brought together by convenience and shared space and grief. That's not enough to keep two people together."

He almost walked away right then. He felt the edges of anger and self loathing closing in. The Journal told one version of events and apparently in that particular version he and Lucy never got their shit together. But he doubted, as she assumed, that the people they were right now could ever become _them_.

"Do you love him?" Flynn asked. His voice stumbled over the words as if they pained him to ask them.

"Yes," Lucy answered immediately.

"Does he love you?" Flynn's voice turned hard and resentful as he asked.

"Yes. But—"

"Do you trust him?" Flynn talked right over her attempt to explain away Wyatt's feelings.

"Yes." That answer was slower than he'd like.

"Then stop trying to find a reason to run away," he said sternly. "That Journal tells one side of the story. One perspective. You're reading it with a biased view. You want to know why I didn't tell you what I knew?"

"That's why I'm here, isn't it?" She asked with annoyed sigh.

"No, actually, I don't think it is, but I digress. I didn't tell you because I have witnessed the two of you choose each other time after time after time. I personally tried to throw a wrench in that. I told secrets, lies, tried to plant doubts in your head and yet every damn time you went back to him. There was no point in me telling you what I read in the Journal because even that version of you still chose him. Even after things went south for the two of you, you stayed by his side to save the world and he stayed by yours. Neither of you had to make that choice, but you did. The only reason you stay with someone you hate is that you don't actually hate them. She may write a different story, but that Lucy loved her Wyatt just as you love yours."

"That doesn't make sense." Wyatt could hear how lost she sounded and he could picture the furrowed confusion on her face.

It made sense to him. He understood Flynn perfectly. That version of Lucy and Wyatt let pride and fear stand in their way. They let things fester until it turned into outward resentment. He'd been there before. The last few years of his marriage to Jessica were definite by avoidance. Avoidance of feelings, issues, fights. They avoided so much that they barely talked.

"You and Wyatt aren't a result of grief, convenience, and shared space. If that's all it was then we wouldn't be talking now. You've had your opportunities to let him go and you _can't_. You don't want to. You're here talking to me because you want me to tell you you're wrong about the Journal. You _want_ someone to push you toward him," Flynn sounded almost angry. His voice was laced with disappointment and occasionally disgust. "I've read the journal but I'm not biased toward Wyatt as your other friends might be. If I tell you that you're wrong then you know it's true."

He heard Lucy suck in a surprised breath. Wyatt knew Flynn read the situation clearly and so did Lucy. Try as he might Wyatt couldn't deny that Flynn knew Lucy well. In his opinion, Flynn cheated to get that knowledge. But how he got the knowledge didn't really matter. Flynn knew Lucy just as well as he did and Lucy had gone to _Flynn_ with her fears about their relationship. He agreed with everything Flynn told her and he was relieved that Flynn seemed to be more of a class act than Wyatt gave him credit for but that didn't change the anger growing in his chest. He felt like he shouldn't be angry with her. She was scared and confused. It was understandable to have doubts.

Especially given their history, but _he_ wanted to be the one to soothe her. _He_ wanted to be the one to assure her that he loved her too much to ever let her go. But he couldn't do that. She shut him out of that. She shut him out and let Flynn in. It hurt like a slap across the face. He thought they were doing well. He thought he proved to her where he stood and how he felt.

He was wrong. She may have said the words, but they still had work to do. The question was, though, would she open up to him and let him help her? Lucy could be tight lipped when she wanted to be. He still had no clue what happened to her while she was with Rittenhouse. She rarely acknowledged it or talked about it. She never talked about Amy anymore. Not to him. Yes, they were close, but she was still shutting him out. How had not seen that until now?

He turned and headed back to his room. He heard something he wasn't supposed to just now. What did he do with that? Did he tell her? Did he go to her and ask her about it? Or did he wait for her to come to him? They needed to address it. He knew Lucy. This would bother her until they did, but how could he bring it up when he wasn't supposed to know? No, Lucy would have to come to him. He would have to wait for her to let him help her.

If she ever did.


	6. May 2019

Nearly a month later and still Lucy hadn't approached him about the Journal. She went on as if nothing bothered her. But he could see it in her eyes. He could feel it sometimes in her kiss. Slowly, she was putting up walls and stepping away. Was he actually losing her? Was the goddamn Journal and some jackass alternate version of himself really ending this relationship before it truly began? How could she let that happen? Why wouldn't she just _talk_ to him about it?

Probably for the same reason he couldn't bring up what he overheard. He was afraid of where that conversation would lead. He wasn't ready for whatever it was they were doing to end. The longer he avoided that then longer he kept her, even if he didn't have all of her.

So, they went on in a strained holding pattern. He knew something was wrong and she knew that he suspected she was holding out on him. But neither ever voiced it.

Until the strain she'd been under snapped. Then finally the truth came out.

He went to her room to let her know dinner was ready but what he heard on the other side of the door were tears. Sobbing. Gasping and heart wrenching. He knew it was Lucy. He held her through sobs before. It hurt just as much now as it did then. _Enough_. This was _enough_. They couldn't go on like this. He wouldn't let them. But he still wanted Lucy to tell him what she wanted him to do. To come to him about what was bothering her. Lucy had a tendency to not ask for the things she really wanted. That needed to change.

He opened the door and took several purposeful strides until he was sitting on the bed next to her. She had her back against the wall and her knees pulled to her chest. She looked small and alone. The worst part was...she didn't have to be. He was right there. If only she would reach for him.

"Lucy," he said hoarsely. "What's wrong? Something has been wrong for weeks now. Please, just tell me. Let me help."

She took a deep breath and met his eyes with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Do you think it's possible to want something with all your heart and soul and yet never be able to have it or keep it?"

His brow furrowed at her. "Are you referring to us?"

"Wanting you has never meant keeping you," she said softly.

The hurt in her voice was killing him. She had a vice grip on his heart and every tear that fell meant she squeezed a little tighter. "You don't seem too determined to keep me lately."

Her eyes closed and she winced. "I didn't know how to bring it up."

"Putting distance between us won't help," he told her as he reached out a hand and cupped her cheek, wiping tears away with his thumb.

"It's the only thing I know how to do," she told him with a self deprecating laugh.

"Where did this worry come from, Luce?" He asked. He knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from her. "We were fine and then you pulled away. What happened?"

She gave him a hesitant glance and then pointed to the Journal on her bedside table. "I read about _her_."

"The Future Lucy that gave Flynn the journal?" He asked. They always assumed the Lucy they met from the future was the same one who had taken Flynn the journal. Flynn never corrected that assumption.

She nodded. "What happens to us in those pages is awful, Wyatt. They try but they can't make it work. She never goes into too much detail just that...he goes back to his Jessica for a while. He comes back but after that they're never the same. He left her one too many times and when she can't forgive him he becomes—"

"Let me guess," Wyatt said with a sigh. "A distant stoic douchebag who takes a few too many risks and has a bit of a death wish?"

She nodded. "Who stops talking to any of his friends and lets all of his perceived failures haunt him every moment of every day."

"You're right," He said with a derisive snort. "I can be a bit dramatic."

A small grin tugged at her lips but never fully formed.

"We're not them, Lucy," Wyatt promised her. "They came here. We saw them. We didn't like them. Remember? We've never talked about it but I think it's been clear that the future they showed us is not the one that we want. We don't have to become them."

She pulled away from the wall and then slid onto his lap. Her hands framed his face and tenderly caressed him. "I love that you're determined to carve your own path no matter what anyone tells you. Nothing is set in stone for you. Not even the past." She rested her forehead against his before she continued. "But what if you're wrong? What if we inevitably break each other beyond repair? Love wasn't enough for them. Why do you think it will be for us?"

"Because love isn't enough," he said honestly. "It's foundation, sure, but the actual relationship is going to take work. You and I have always had one fatal flaw."

"Our timing?" She asked with a teasing grin.

He chuckled lightly and shook his head. "No because we could have done something about that if only we hadn't sucked at our _actual_ flaw."

"And that would be?"

"Communication, Luce," he told her with a gloomy grin. "Neither one of us has ever been good at clearly stating what we want and how we feel. I danced around telling you I love you for too long and telling you about my past has never been easy. Most of what you know about it you overheard me say to someone else. And then the last few weeks…" His eyes drifted from hers and over to the Journal. "I knew what was going on with you and said nothing. I kept waiting for you to come to me."

Her brow furrowed and she pulled her forehead from his to let her eyes roam over his entire face. "You knew?"

"I was looking for you and I overheard you and Flynn talking about the Journal," he answered with a wounded sigh. "You went to him for comfort, Lucy, and because of that I sat on my heels and let you dwell on this. I selfishly wanted you to reach out to me because I was angry you didn't in the first place."

"You—you heard that?" Lucy asked him with a pained expression. "Wyatt, I'm so sorry. I never meant for that to hurt you in any way I was just... _scared_. Scared that speaking it, especially to you, would make it real. That you would reconsider _this_ \- _us_. I thought if I could sort out how I felt on my own then—"

"You could avoid the fate in the Journal completely," Wyatt finished for her knowingly.

"It sounds unfair to you when I say it out loud," she told him as she gave him an apologetic look and ran her hands through his hair.

"Look, yes, it hurt. It made my angry. But I've done the same to you, haven't I? I've made decisions that affected us both completely on my own. Decisions that hurt you more than I ever thought they would. There's no self help manual for how to deal with Time Travel and knowing too much about the different paths your life could take. We're gonna fuck it up," he told her with an understanding smile. "Me more than you, probably."

She chuckled and nodded her agreement. "Probably."

He rolled his eyes at her and let his hands settle around her waist. "But from now on, can we agree to fuck it up together? To make decisions, even bad ones, _as partners_? No secrets, no lies. If it bothers you then I want to know. I don't care if it's the worst news you could ever tell me, I want to know. Okay?"

"Okay," she agreed before kissing his lips to seal the deal. "No matter what, the communication lines stay open."

"We _can_ avoid those people, Lucy. It won't be easy. You and I have both spent too much time closed off from the world so we'll have to work at it. But I didn't get where I am today by slacking off and neither did you."

She grinned at him and chuckled. "Where we are today? You mean an underground bunker that should be condemned?"

He laughed and nodded. "Yes, exactly what I meant. Do you feel better?"

She nodded and then rested her head against his shoulder. "Much. Thank you." He felt her lips against his neck for a moment before she spoke again. "I love you."

He kissed the top of her head and tightened his arms around her. He wasn't losing her. Not today. Not ever. Relief flooded him as he sighed contentedly. The world felt right again. "I love you too."

He knew her doubts weren't gone. They may never be completely gone, but at least now she would come to him and he could help her with them. Helping Lucy, protecting her, that was what he was meant to do and he would continue to do it as long as he was able.


	7. June 2019

It was good thing he never celebrated his birthday because this would not have been how he wanted it to go. He could tell Lucy was disappointed. He knew she had plans. He just wasn't sure what they were. Things were still a little awkward. The ghosts of a future that still might be haunted them, but they haunted them _together_ at least. If he knew Lucy, she made plans to try and make up for her doubts and fears. She didn't need to. Her concerns were understandable. He had concerns too. What if she could never get passed the fear that he might leave her? What if they were stuck right where they were because he was the jackass who left her standing alone in a hallway right after the best night of his life?

But before Lucy could act on those plans, the Mothership jumped. World War II, Germany, _again_. Luckily, Emma just missed the first time they'd been there by a few months. No risk of running into themselves. No risk of time travel side effects.

They were a few miles from Castle Varlar and the minute they found troops Wyatt felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Usually that meant someone was watching him but this time, it felt different. He steered Lucy and Rufus into an infirmary tent, desperate to get them out view of whatever was causing the prickling on his neck.

"What?" Lucy asked. "What is it?"

"I don't know," He said with a bewildered expression.

"Sherwin! Get your ass over here!"

Both Lucy and Wyatt tensed and turned a startled glance on each other at the same moment.

"You said he was a few miles from Castle Varlar," Lucy reminded him. "So are we."

Wyatt felt like he couldn't breathe. What the hell was Emma doing here? He should have thought of it much sooner. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"He?" Rufus asked. "He who?"

Wyatt swallowed loudly and glanced over to the source of the yell. It was a nurse. A nurse he recognized all too well. "Oh, shit. No, no, no. Why didn't I see this coming?"

"What?" Jiya asked. "What's going on?"

Finally, a young soldier appeared with a very familiar smirk pointed at the nurse who called out to him. "Something you needed, ma'am?"

Lucy gasped next to him and then smiled slowly. She bit back a chuckle as she spoke. "Now I see where you got it from."

The young nurse rolled her eyes at him and then smacked him over the back of the head. "Stop smirking at me." She pointed to his arm, that was bleeding slightly. "What is that?"

"That would be a bullet graze, ma'am," he replied with clear amusement shining in his blue eyes.

"Do you think putting 'ma'am' at the end of every sentence is going to make you any less of a nuisance?" The nurse asked as she led him over to an infirmary cot. "Sit."

Lucy grinned at the pair and then turned to face Wyatt. "I like her."

"Me too," Jiya agreed with a chuckle.

"So does he," Wyatt told her with a smirk. "That's my grandmother."

"Hold on," Rufus said as he gave Wyatt a concerned look. "That nurse is your grandmother?"

"And that soldier is his grandfather," Lucy answered with a nod before she turned to Wyatt with a curious smile. "You never told me your grandmother was a nurse in the war. Is that how they met?"

He nodded and laughed lightly as he remembered the story. "Yeah, he used to say he had a time convincing her to give him a chance. She was too good for him and they both knew it, he would say. When she finally agreed to go on a date, it was all hypothetically based on the war ending. He said he didn't need the first date to know how the relationship was going to end. He had a brief leave for an injury and came back with a ring in his pocket," Wyatt said as he patted the front pocket of his stolen uniform, just over his heart. "Kept it in that pocket until they sent him back home."

"That is one of the sweetest stories I think I have ever heard," Jiya told him with wide warm eyes. "And you make so much more sense now."

He gave Jiya a confused look, ready to ask what she meant by that when Rufus interrupted him.

"Wait. Your grandparents are _here_? In the same place as Emma Whitmore and the Mothership?" Rufus asked in concern. "Do we think she's trying to erase you? Keep them from getting married, thereby keeping you from being born?"

"Not if I can help it," Lucy sneered. "This could all be a coincidence but one of us should stay with them while we check it out. It shouldn't be that difficult to find a red headed woman in the middle of all this. Split up."

Wyatt moved to leave the tent but Lucy gripped his arm and pulled him back to her. "You should stay with them."

"Me?" He asked. "Lucy, you'll need me if you do actually find Emma—"

"I know how to shoot now, remember? You taught me. I'm resourceful and scrappy. I'll be fine," Lucy assured him. She gestured to his grandparents across the tent, where his young grandmother was stitching up Sherwin's arm. "They are more important than Emma. You're the best shot and the most skilled of all of us. You should be protecting them." Her tone warmed and a gentle hand landed on his chest. "Besides, how often do you get another chance to talk to someone you've lost? Enjoy it, Wyatt. We both know you've missed him."

His eyes watered and he nodded as he gripped her hand for support. She was right. He took a deep breath and released it. As if he sensed they were talking about him, Sherwin's gaze turned away from the nurse and found Wyatt.

"Okay," he answered after a long stretch of silence.

"We'll find you if we need you," Lucy promised. "Be careful."

He nodded as she pressed a kiss to his cheek and leaned into her with closed eyes. "You too, Preston."

She pulled back and he grinned as he watched her shift into a time traveling warrior. He always loved watching that transition. "See you soon."

And then she was gone. Through the tent and out into the battle around them. Leaving him alone with his grandparents. Or the people who would eventually be his grandparents. He made his way across the tent and casually sat down on the cot across from Sherwin.

"Do you need something, Soldier?"

He looked up to find his grandmother's stern glare. He knew that glare well after a childhood spent getting into more trouble than he was probably worth. He had to fight back a nostalgic smile in order to answer her.

"Uh, I was told to sit down and stay put," Wyatt said as he cleared his throat and pointed out the door where he'd last seen Lucy. "I'm pretty sure it was an order."

"Imagine that, a man who listens to his nurse. Never thought I'd see the day," she replied.

Sherwin laughed at her teasingly and watched her closely as she continued to stitch his arm. "Now, now, Betty. Just because I don't always do as you ask doesn't mean I'm not listening."

"Have I given you permission to call me Betty?" She asked him with a small flirtatious grin.

"You don't mind and we both know it," he told her.

"We do?" She asked him in amusement.

"You would have slapped me again if you really hated it," he told her with a knowing smirk.

"You're insufferable," Betty said with a huff, although the amusement never left her eyes.

Wyatt felt like he was having a small panic attack. Watching this was familiar yet strange. His grandparents were like this well into old age. Flirty and teasing and undeniably in love. But seeing them now, at the beginning of their life together, was strange. These people had no idea how they would influence his life. They had no idea that they would show him what love really is. He owed everything good and decent about himself to _them_.

Someone on the other side of the tent called Betty away just as she was finishing the stitching on Sherwin's arm. She ran a light touch through Sherwin's hair and let out a worried sigh.

"Don't move from this spot," she ordered. "I'm not done with you yet."

He quirked a playful brow at her and grinned. "I like the sound of that."

"You louse," she said with a laugh.

"I like the sound of that too," he replied, winking at her as she left.

Once she was gone Sherwin turned to Wyatt with a friendly smile. "Is your girl as stubborn as mine?" He asked.

Wyatt looked up at him in surprise. "My girl?"

"The nurse I saw you with before," he said with a grin. "The looker that kissed your cheek? That's your girl, right?"

He saw that. He saw him with Lucy. He assumed they were together. Was it stupid that Wyatt felt a small thrill at that?

"Yeah, yeah that's my girl. And she is absolutely as stubborn as yours." That was likely one of the reasons he fell so hard.

Sherwin chuckled. "Figures, the stubborn ones are usually the best ones. The ones you need to hold onto at any cost."

"If you can," Wyatt said thoughtfully.

"Uh oh," Sherwin said with raised brows. "That sounded like a loaded statement. Problems?"

"She's, um, a little unsure about us," he admitted vaguely. "Not sure what I can do to make it better."

Sherwin nodded thoughtfully and then scratched his chin. Wyatt felt the corners of his mouth turn up as he watched him. His grandfather always did that when he was in deep thought. Every time Wyatt came to him for advice, Sherwin would take a deep breath and scratch his chin while sitting in pensive silence. Wyatt would sometimes wait for an answer for several minutes. It often felt like Sherwin was torturing him on purpose, and he probably was.

"Not much you can do, is there?" Sherwin asked. "Betty took a while to come around too. She promised herself she would never get involved with a soldier." His grandfather laughed softly as he remembered. "She liked me, but she didn't like my job. Can't blame her for that. Especially, given the war."

"So, what did you do?" Wyatt asked curiously.

"Nothing to do but love her through it," he answered. "Prove to her that I'm not going anywhere, good or bad - for richer, for poorer. All I can do is love her and hope that she realizes I'm here until my last breath. Bet that's all you can do too. It ain't easy, but it's worth it."

"So, you two are that serious, huh?" He tried not to sound like he already knew the answer. He was pretty sure he failed.

"We will be once this damn war ends," he promised as he automatically patted the left breast pocket of his uniform. He looked back up at Wyatt with a proud smirk. "Got a ring and all. Ready to go. This war will end, we'll have our first date, and that's when I'll make it permanent."

"Seems a little fast," Wyatt told him with a small smile.

"Fast? I've known that woman for two years now. Yeah, sure, I could do the courtship, dinners and movies and dances charade if I wanted to be like everybody else, but why would I do that if I already know how it's going to go?" He asked Wyatt. He motioned to the tent around them. The bloody rags discarded on the floor, the sound of gunfire outside, the painful screams of the man being worked on across the room. "After all of this," he said as he gave another pointed look around them. "Why would I waste my time playing games? No, when you know, you know. I know that I want a life with her. A place of our own, kids, dogs, even grandkids someday down the road. I want all of that with her and no one else. So why would I waste our time when we could get started right away? I've seen too much hatred in this war. I wanna go home and be surrounded by the good things in life. Starting with Betty."

Sherwin looked around to make sure Betty was still busy assisting the doctor before opening his front pocket and pulling out the ring. Wyatt already knew what the ring looked like. He had it in a lockbox of his grandfather's things in his apartment. Well, he hoped it was still in his apartment. It was before the explosion at Mason, at least.

It was a beautiful ring. It had a flat wide stone with a thin gold band. The cut of the stone was the headlining feature. Rose cut, his grandpa called it. It was a clean, elegant, _classic_ ring. Too classic for Jessica's tastes. She preferred the fancier ring with multiple smaller stones that he could just barely afford on his own. Sherwin had offered the ring to him, but he turned it down. Not the first time he'd ever hurt his grandpa's feelings during his lifetime, but certainly not a memory he liked to relive very often.

That ring Sherwin held in his hand, had never touched Jessica's finger. He used to hate that fact, but now as he sat there and listened to his grandpa telling him how he planned to propose to Betty, he realized something.

There was a reason Jessica never wanted that ring. There was a reason his grandpa left to him when he died, even though he was already married. That ring was never meant for Jessica. It was meant for Lucy.

It was perfect for her. It had a beautiful history and it was from her favorite time period and it _mattered._ It had a story to tell. A meaning.

Sherwin dropped the ring back into the pocket for safekeeping and then smiled kindly at Wyatt. "If you think that girl of yours is the one then keep loving her. Keep fighting for her. Keep faith in the life you could build together. But whatever you do, the most important thing will always be to never let her go."

"Trust me, I don't plan to," Wyatt pledged. "She's everything I never knew I needed."

Lucy may be worried but, after talking to Sherwin, Wyatt wasn't. When you know, you know, he said. Well, Wyatt knew. He knew Lucy was the one. He may have loved Jessica before her but he would never love anyone else after her. She was _it_.

"Good," Sherwin replied. "I like a soldier who knows his mind. Never caught your name, I don't think. I'm Sherwin." Sherwin stuck his hand out between them for a shake and Wyatt felt the tears threatening him again.

The last time he shook his grandpa's hand was the day he and Jess left Texas for California. That was _years_ ago. It's surprising the things you miss when someone's really gone. Wyatt got himself together somehow and shook Sherwin's hand.

"Wyatt," he answered.

"And what's your girls name?" He asked.

"Lucy," Wyatt replied with a smile. He couldn't help but smile when he said her name.

"Wyatt and Lucy," Sherwin said with a contemplative glance as the names slowly fell off his tongue. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds right. Good combination of names. I like it."

"Thank you," Wyatt told him with a chuckle. It seemed silly, but even that small blessing meant more than Sherwin realized.

Lucy suddenly burst into the tent and came to a skidding stop in the space between Wyatt and Sherwin. "We're good," she told him urgently. "Emma left."

Wyatt's brow furrowed at her in confusion. "She left?"

"Rufus checked the—" she stopped herself mid-sentence as she remembered who was sitting on the cot behind her. She turned and smiled politely at him with a nod. "Hello."

"Lucy, right?" Sherwin asked as he held his hand for another shake.

"I—uh, yes," Lucy said as she gave him a surprised glance. She accepted his hand with a slow smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Name's Sherwin," he told her with a wink. "Don't mind me."

Lucy's eyes lingered on Sherwin before finally turning back to Wyatt. "Rufus said Emma went back to the—went home. They were only here for about fifteen minutes."

"That doesn't make sense," Wyatt told her in confusion. "That's not even enough time get out of the ship and walk here."

Lucy nodded. "The only thing we can figure out is that they changed their mind for whatever reason. We need to go though. Just in case they go somewhere else."

Wyatt nodded but gave Sherwin a hesitant glance. He missed getting advice from his grandfather. He missed _him_. But this was all he was going to have. It was a fleeting moment in time for Sherwin, but it would be a memory Wyatt would cherish for the rest of his days.

Wyatt felt Lucy's supportive hand on his arm and he looked up to find her smiling at him in empathetic understanding.

"I'll just be outside," she said. "Whenever you're ready."

She squeezed his shoulder and then left the tent.

"Duty calls," Wyatt said as he stood from the cot. Sherwin stood too but made sure to keep his freshly stitched arm completely still.

"Yeah, I'm familiar," Sherwin said with a chuckle. "Be safe out there, Wyatt. Keep her safe too. Lucy seems like a rare woman."

"You have no idea exactly how true that is," Wyatt told him with an easy smile. He then pointed to Betty on the other end of the tent. "She'll love that ring, by the way. Good luck with everything."

"I appreciate it, but I don't need luck," Sherwin told him with a confident smirk. "I told you I like a soldier who knows his mind. I know mine and, no matter what happens with the ring or the war, I plan on loving her through it. Simple as that."

Simple as that. He made it sound so easy. One single minded focus.

"Hopefully, I can do the same," Wyatt told him a nod. "Well, good to meet you, Sherwin. And Betty too. I know you'll have many happy years ahead of you."

It sounded like well-wishes but it was the honest to God factual truth. They exchanged one last handshake and Wyatt made sure to commit it to memory. This time he knew it would be the last one. But this parting didn't feel devastating. It felt hopeful. Sherwin still had his whole life ahead of him and, with a few exceptions, Wyatt knew it was full of happiness and warmth.

He walked out of the tent and almost bowled Lucy over. He caught her by the shoulders before she could fall and steadied her. He felt the smirk he'd inherited from his grandfather form across his lips as he held her to him. "If you wanted me to hold you, ma'am, all you had to do was say so."

She laughed and shook her head at him. "God, you are just like him. I shouldn't be surprised."

He wasn't sure she realized it, but that was the biggest compliment she ever could have given him.

"No, I'm not," he answered seriously as he kept his arms around her, "But I'm trying to be."

The smile Lucy focused on him was warm and affectionate and for the first time in weeks it held no worries or doubts. She looked confident and happy.

"You don't have to try as hard as you think you do, Wyatt," Lucy told him. "Trust me." She met his eyes with a heartfelt glance before running a hand over his cheek and through his hair. "Come on, let's go. If we go now we'll get back in time for dinner and I asked Denise to bring something special for your birthday. After that, Rufus and I are switching rooms." She tugged him toward the tree line they had originally walked from and then looked back over her shoulder with a suggestive smile. "I have a birthday present for you that I _think_ you'll want to unwrap in private."

"I like the sound of that," Wyatt told her with a heated crooked smile. "Maybe celebrating my birthday isn't such a bad idea after all."

Not this year, at least. When the day began he thought it was going to be awful. A jump to World War II Germany on his birthday? How could that be anything but horrible? But he was wrong. He got see his grandfather again and as usual he spoke wisdom to Wyatt's jumbled mind. If there was ever a time to need his grandfather's advice, it was now. That would have been enough on it's own, but he still got to go back home with Lucy. She seemed lighter now than she had been in weeks and he wanted nothing more than to enjoy that. To enjoy _her._

Just as they reached the Lifeboat he pulled her in for a long series of searing kisses. He couldn't help himself. He felt giddy and he hadn't felt giddy in far too long. She had been surprised, at first, but it didn't take her long to give as good as she was getting. He wasn't sure how long they stood by the hatch kissing, but he knew the need for air was rapidly approaching. He pulled away with a smile and touched his forehead to hers as they both caught their breath.

"You guys gonna stand there and make out all day or are we going home?"

They'd forgotten about Rufus. They both turned to find Rufus and Jiya watching them from the hatch with bored expressions.

"I mean, this is disgusting and all," Rufus said with a grin. "But I'm really hoping to make it back in time for those steaks Christopher's bringing us. A man can't live off of sandwiches and spaghetti alone, you know?"

Wyatt chuckled and kissed Lucy one more time, ignoring Rufus's protests.

"Best. Birthday. Ever," he told her with a grin. He was repeating her words from four months ago and she knew it.

"And it's not over yet," Lucy promised with a wink. "Just you wait till I get you home."

"Looking forward to it."

To that and so much more.

As they climbed in the Lifeboat he made a mental note to ask Christopher about the lockbox in his apartment. He couldn't leave the bunker but maybe she could find it for him. There was something inside it that he might be needing in the near future or at least he hoped he would be needing it in the near future.

Best to keep it near him to keep that hope alive, just like Sherwin for the last few years of World War II. He wanted a future with Lucy. He wanted build a life with her. His grandfather was right. If he wanted to make that happen there was only one thing to do.

Love her through it.

Be constant and unwavering in his love for her. He could do that. He knew he could do that. He just needed to make sure Lucy knew it too.


	8. July 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** we're going to switch perspectives now. This chapter picks up with Lucy. Also if you saw Global's promo they released last night there is a still floating around that oddly coincides with this chapters subject matter. I think they're watching me. ;)
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> angellwings

What was happening? Chaos broke out all around them. Emma and her hired goons, sans Jessica, tried to cause a riot to distract from their escape. It was working. Lucy had no idea where Rufus or Flynn were and she kept spotting Wyatt here and there. She couldn't seem to reach him. She was ducking Rittenhouse agent after Rittenhouse agent, doing her best to avoid shooting into a crowd and not counting on her limited fight training to save her. She and Wyatt had started her training and she was much improved from a few months ago, but nowhere near ready to take on these guys. They were brutes.

A stray arm impacted across her stomach. The wind was knocked out of her but she managed to catch herself before she could fall. If she fell in this crowd then there was no guarantee she would be able to get back up. She pushed her way through, heading toward the flashes of Wyatt she could make out through all the people. Finally he came into full view, just as one of Emma's brutes was raising his gun at Wyatt's back.

Wyatt was fighting someone else and didn't see him. He had no clue.

No. _No._

Two gunshots rang out at once and the man aiming for Wyatt fell. For a moment, Lucy didn't know where the shot came from until she glanced down at her own hand and realized she had fired her weapon. She did it. She shot the man and she didn't even think about it. She dropped the gun as soon as she realized what she did. But what was there to think about? It was _Wyatt_. She couldn't lose Amy, her mother, _and Wyatt_. She would never survive that. Desperation and fear forced her instincts to take action when her mind froze.

"Lucy!" Wyatt was calling her name and running toward her. She could see him holding his side as he ran. Blood stained his shirt low on his left side. She may have killed the man shooting at Wyatt, but he still got off a shot.

Wyatt reached her and her hands immediately cupped his face and brought his eyes to hers. "Are you okay? Were you hit?"

"Grazed," he answered. "I'm fine. You got him, Lucy." He brought one hand up to cover one of the hands she had on his face. "You saved me. I'm here."

The minute his hand covered hers she noticed the difference in her knuckles and his. His were red and swollen. Hers were white.

"I'm okay, Lucy," he repeated. "I'm okay."

Her breathing was labored and she could suddenly feel the sting of the tears in her eyes. Her body and her emotions were reacting separately from her brain. She had no control over herself in this moment.

"Your back was turned and he had a gun pointed—"

"I know," he said softly. "Where's your gun?"

"I-I think I dropped it," she said as she blinked at him and then glanced down at the ground. Thank god it was an extra gun that Wyatt stole off of a guard and time period appropriate.

Wyatt nodded and then crossed the distance between them. He pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead and then kept his lips pressed there for a beat as he breathed her in. "You just keep on saving my life, ma'am. Thank you," he whispered against her skin. "Let's get the others and get out of here."

He pulled her tight against his side and held her firmly as he pushed them through the crowd. He kept his body in front of hers, taking all the impact from people shoving and punching instead of her. When they made it out of the crowd they found Flynn and Rufus waiting on them. Both looked like someone had beat the hell out of them. Lucy was sure that she and Wyatt looked just as awful.

Wyatt was still holding his side as they walked back to the Lifeboat. It wasn't gushing blood so she was sure he was telling her the truth. It was a shallow graze. But the blood on his shirt brought forth a totally different image. The image of what could have happened if she hadn't found him when she did.

The image of Wyatt bleeding out in the middle of a riot. His normally soul bearing eyes were cold and distant, his skin grey and pale, his hands still and lax. She climbed into the Lifeboat and buckled her seatbelt on autopilot. Her unfocused gaze stared passed Wyatt to the blinking panel of lights and switches behind him. She couldn't focus because she was imagining that Lucy. That alternate Lucy who just lost her Wyatt. No eyes to bore into hers and pull the truth out of her, no body heat to share a cot with, no calloused hands to run across her heated skin in a fit of passion, no arms to hold her through her tears of loss. Tears of loss that were for _him._

She'd been there before. When her mother had her and she thought he had died in the explosion. She felt that depth of loss acutely and wanted nothing more than to put an end to the war that cost her too much. If at the end of that war she wound up forfeiting her life then it would all be fine. Because that meant she would be with him and with Rufus again. She would have finished what they started and then rejoined them in wherever it is you go when you die.

But now that she knew he loved her it was so much worse. Or it would have been. He didn't die. He was fine aside from a shallow wound that could be stitched up quickly once they landed at the bunker.

So why couldn't she stop imagining him lying dead in the street? If he was fine, why did she feel like her heart was on the verge of shattering. A hand landed on hers as it was fisted and rested on her knee. She looked up and found Wyatt's concerned gaze intent on hers. He held her eyes during the entire flight. She was the one who broke contact as soon as they landed in the Bunker.

She unbuckled and raced out of the hatch, advising Christopher that Wyatt needed a medic as she descended the stairs. She made a break for the shower while Wyatt was being stitched up and spent nearly half an hour sobbing on the shower floor.

What was wrong with her? They had been in tougher spots than this. They faced worse things. Hell, they lost Rufus completely for a moment. They nearly died numerous times. Why was this different? Why couldn't she get it together? She washed her face and dressed and prayed no one noticed her swollen bloodshot eyes. She knew they would. But she didn't want them to ask her about it. There was only one person she wanted to talk to.

They promised each other they would work on their communication. Well, here was her first test.

She found Wyatt in his room sitting on his cot with his back against the wall, shirtless as he examined the fresh bandage over his stitching.

"Hi," she said softly.

His head jerked upward and his worried eyes crashed into hers. "Hi."

He patted the blankets next to him and then motioned her forward. She nodded and silently padded her socked feet across the cold concrete floor. When she was close enough he reached for her and pulled her down onto the cot.

"Are you okay?" She asked him.

He gave her a half smile and nodded. "I'm okay. I'm more worried about you at the moment." He brought a hand to her face and traced his thumb across her puffy lower eyelid. "You've been crying. Why?"

"I could have lost you today, Wyatt," she answered weakly.

"But you didn't."

"Not this time, but what about next time?" She asked as her brow pinched in pain. "I—I've been so worried about our future selves that I didn't stop to think…" Her sentence faded because her next thought was too dreadful to finish.

"Telling me your fears won't make them come true, Luce," Wyatt reminded her as he leaned toward her and kissed her forehead. "Tell me."

"I've been so worried about our future selves that I didn't stop to think about what would happen if we just...didn't have one," she said as her lip began to tremble and yet another ear slipped down her cheek.

"We'll have one," he assured her.

"You can't know that," she replied.

He chuckled softly and then moved her into his lap. He trailed kisses from her cheek, her jaw, all the way down to her sternum. He brought his head up to rest his forehead against her temple. She felt his smile against her skin.

"Something funny?" She asked.

"I feel like we've flipped positions, Professor. I still don't buy all that fate bullshit, but I definitely believe that some things are meant to be. You and me, we're one of those things," he told her. "We have a future. We'll stop Rittenhouse. We'll get out of this damn hell hole. I know us. I know how hard we fight. It's gonna happen and when it does we'll be side by side."

"And you know this for a fact?" Lucy asked him skeptically.

He nodded and pointed a crooked smirk at her. "I mean I don't have a journal or a visit from my future self to prove it, but yeah I know this for a fact."

"Well, I don't know it for a fact," Lucy said as a soft smile grew in response to his smirk. "But I do know one thing that all of this crying has proved to me." She ran her hands through his hair and met his eyes. She wanted to make sure he saw the emotions in her eyes as she continued. "I don't know what our future is, Wyatt. All I know is that I want it. I want a future with you. Whatever shape that takes, whatever situation we're in...I want it to be with you."

His eyes brows rose and his blue eyes brightened to a much lighter shade. "You mean that?"

"I kept imagining what would have happened if I'd been too late," Lucy said with a sigh. "That's why I've been crying. I kept seeing you dead in the street. You were gone and every chance we had at a future went with you. And I know that's not what happened but I couldn't stop thinking about it, feeling it. It was _awful_. I would have been that same person I was when Rittenhouse had me. I would have been willing to sacrifice anything, give up every chance at a life myself, just to finish this fight. And if that meant losing my own life in the process I wouldn't have cared. Do you know why?"

He swallowed thickly. She could see tears and total understanding in his gaze. But he humored her anyway. "Why?"

"Because without you I have no future. You _are_ that future," She told him confidently. "Even if it all goes bad like our future selves, you're still there. We were still together even if we weren't... _together_. No matter our relationship status, my future is linked to yours and, honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way."

She still had doubts about whether or not this relationship would work but she refused to let that taint what they had in the present. After almost losing him today, she refused to act like they were doomed before they really began. She loved him. He loved her. She wouldn't be half hearted about anything anymore. It had to be all or nothing.

Now, more than ever, she was ready to give it her all.

"I love you," she told him. "And I'm still scared, but I won't let it control me anymore."

His hand gently gripped her chin and pulled her lips to his for a kiss. It was sweet and slow and intrusive. One kiss quickly became two and then Lucy turned further into him to adjust their positions. The angle shifted and allowed for a deeper kiss. He captured her bottom lip between his and then tugged it lightly as he pulled out of the kiss. He bumped his nose against hers and let his lips hover over hers, teasing the possibility of another kiss. It was the most phenomenal kind of torture Lucy had ever experienced.

"I love you too," he replied. "You're not the only one who's scared. But we're going to do this and we're going to do it together and as long as we keep talking like _this_ then I think we'll be just fine."

He was so confident in her, in _them_ , that it was practically contagious. She could feel his optimistic view of their future spreading from him to her with every touch and every kiss and every word that left his mouth. If he could have such unwavering faith in them then maybe she could too. If they were willing to put in the work then why couldn't it work out? Why couldn't she have a little faith that she would finally get to have him and _keep him_?

Her luck had to change sometime. Why couldn't it change with Wyatt?


	9. August 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** OMG YOU GUYS. TOMORROW. TOMORROW IS THE DAY. I updated WYHIMF today and I can already tell people are super pumped cause no one is reading today lmao. We're all far to excited by social media (myself included). The cast is being insanely active and hilarious. BTS is being posted. Advance Reviews are being written. Spoilers are RAMPANT. WE LIVE MY FRIENDS AND TOMORROW IS GOING TO BE AMAZING. FIND ME ON TWITTER SO WE CAN SHARE IN THE JOY TOMORROW NIGHT. I'LL BE HAPPY TO SCREAM WITH YOU (DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS OF COURSE.)
> 
> We're finally here! I can't believe it! I'm gonna be such a mess tomorrow! I LOVE ALL OF YOU SO MUCH AND WE ALL DESERVE THE HAPPINESS THAT'S COMING OUR WAY.
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> angellwings

Jessica's appearances on their missions were erratic at best. They never knew when she might appear with Emma. When she did Wyatt was always more tense than normal. Lucy knew him and she knew the last thing he wanted was to be put in a position where he might have to shoot Jessica.

He knew this Jessica wasn't his Jessica but that didn't change the way she looked. That didn't change that he once thought she might be pregnant with his child. It didn't change any of their shared history.

Currently, they were facing off against Emma but they knew Jessica was nearby. Wyatt's head had been on a swivel since their first run in with them.

"We should split up," Lucy suggested. "We're cornered here and we need to find John Wayne. We can't let them get away with this or we risk Reagan never being president."

"No, Lucy," Wyatt said with a shake of his head. "No way."

"If you and Flynn keep Emma distracted then Rufus and I can get out of here unnoticed. We'll find John Wayne and keep them from switching him with Reagan then meet you back at the Lifeboat," she said with a huff. "It's the only way."

He stared at her for a long moment as he considered the situation before finally nodding. "Fine, go. But be careful."

"You too," she replied. She squeezed his hand and then led Rufus away as Flynn and Wyatt laid down cover fire to keep Emma and her backup distracted.

Once they were outside of the soundstage, she turned and headed for the dressing rooms. "His trailer is this way," she said as she directed Rufus around the corner.

This was the part that she should have seen coming. She should have known that there would be something, or someone, lurking between her and John Wayne. An arm struck out and hit Rufus as he jogged ahead. Lucy cried out as the butt of a gun hit Rufus and he crumpled to the ground. She took a step toward him but the gun was quickly turned on her.

"Lucy," Jessica said with a thin smile. "We need to talk. Wife to girlfriend."

"No, thanks, I'm good," Lucy answered with a glare.

"Like you have a choice," Jessica said with a laugh and a pointed glance over Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy had been cornered by Rittenhouse enough times to know what that meant. Before she could make a break for it, she felt a pinch in her neck and the world turned cloudy. She fell backward but never hit the ground. A pair of unyielding arms caught her. Her vision darkened around the edges until everything was pitch black. As she passed out, she mentally cursed herself for ever splitting off from Wyatt and then promised herself she would make it back to him. She would never be Rittenhouse's prisoner ever again.

When she came to, she found herself tied in a chair in the middle of a Hollywood soundstage. As her awareness returned she started to recognize the set. The garish colors and outlandishly shaped buildings brought childhood memories of singalongs with her sister to the forefront. Skipping around the house arm in arm with a stuffed dog in a basket. Pleasant happy memories with a sister who no longer existed.

"I've been trapped a lot of places since this time travel mess started," Lucy said in a groggy voice. "But never Munchkinland. I mean, could be worse. Could be the furnace in the basement of The Murder Castle."

"I didn't bring you here for you to reminisce," Jessica said with a scoff.

"Why _did_ you bring me here?" Lucy asked as she blinked blearily up at her. "I expected to wake up with Rittenhouse in the present."

"To warn you."

"Let me guess," Lucy said with a patronizing grin. "Stay away from Wyatt?"

"It's not quite so catty as that, Lucy. Honestly, I'm trying to save you the heartache,". Jessica said as she paced in front of her.

She huffed in annoyance, but let her eyes follow Jessica's movements. "Because Wyatt belongs to you? Is that what you're going to say?"

"He doesn't right now, no," Jessica said with a chuckle. "But he will. Again. It's inevitable. He and I are a family. Families belong on the same side."

Lucy chuckled bitterly and shook her head. "Yeah, tell that to my mother. Or my father too for that matter."

"You were the only one on the wrong side in that scenario. You have no one to blame for that but yourself," Jessica scowled. "Carol wanted to give you everything and you turned on her. On all of us. You're the reason I'm going to make sure Wyatt chooses the right side, even if I have to force his hand."

That last turn of phrase made Lucy's blood run cold. How did she plan to force his hand? Would Jessica try to use her against him? Trade her freedom for his?

"Hell no," Lucy said with a growl. "I won't let you do that."

"And how are you going to stop me?" Jessica asked her.

"Does Emma know you're doing this? Wouldn't she rather you be helping her erase Reagan's presidency? If I know Emma, and I do, she would rather you kill all of us than convert us."

"Emma will come around once she sees that he's one of us. Wyatt is a good soldier. Rittenhouse can _always_ use a soldier," Jessica told her with a determined nod. She sounded as though she were trying to convince herself more than Lucy.

"Emma's already told you no, hasn't she?" Lucy asked with as a knowing smirk formed on her lips. "She told you no and you're trying it anyway."

"Will you shut up? I'm trying to think," Jessica snapped.

Silence filled the stage and Lucy took that opportunity to assess her surroundings. She was tied to a wooden folding chair. Bound with her wrists behind her back. No, wait. She tugged at her wrists and realized they were tied together, not to the chair. Surprising. She would have thought someone as trained as Jessica would know better. Her ankles weren't restrained either.

Clearly, this was an impulsive decision on Jessica's part. She saw her opportunity and she took it. She hadn't thought this through and it wouldn't take a soldier or an engineer to get her out of this one. There was a noise in the alley and Jessica let out an aggravated sigh before heading to the door.

"What are those idiots I hired up to now?" She muttered as she headed to the main door.

Lucy thanked every hand of Fate that led to that fortunate timing. If she could rid herself of the chair then she could run away. She hooked her feet around the legs of the chair and then pushed herself upward. The wooden boards creaked and groaned as they shifted under the strain. It stretched as far as it could until the flimsy legs and hinges snapped. She fell to the ground and bit back a pained cry as her hip slammed against the hard concrete floor. No time to think about her bumps and bruises. She kicked and thrashed until the pieces of the chair fell away and then stood clumsily. It was hard to push up off the floor with your hands tied behind your back.

Jessica had gone out the only door. If Lucy followed her she'd be caught again and right back where she started. But there had to be another door. Film crews loaded large set pieces onto sound stages all the time, especially in the late 1930s when epic productions were in their heyday. With no computer graphics to aid them either. There had to be a loading bay door. Like a large garage door. Lucy ran to the opposite side of the building where the back of the Munchkinland set could be accessed and found exactly what she was looking for. Behind a painted backdrop was a large metal door, big enough for a truck to load in large set pieces or construction materials.

Just as she was trying to figure out how to open the door with restrained hands it began to open on it's own. She jumped back and then hid behind the edge of the set. Hidden enough to peek out but not be seen. The door stopped when it was still low to the ground, an opening just wide enough for someone to slip through. A body rolled underneath and then popped up to stand. But she still couldn't see who it was. It was too dark. If Jessica was doing this against Emma's orders then it could still be someone from Rittenhouse.

The figure walked toward her and she stuck her foot out in the hopes of tripping them and making her escape out the raised loading bay door. There was a startled grunt as the man hit the ground and Lucy immediately recognized the sound.

"Oh my god, Wyatt," she said in a hushed tone as she rushed forward and knelt beside of him. "I'm sorry. I thought—"

She was interrupted by his arms going around her and his lips covering hers. It was a quick kiss but it contained so much feeling. Relief, worry, love. He pulled back and gave her a once over, from head to toe.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you at all?"

"Some sort of sedative in my neck earlier but otherwise I'm fine," she answered quietly. "We should go. Jessica could be back at any minute."

His hands trailed down her arms until he found that her wrists were restrained behind her back. "Flynn's distracting her. We have time. Turn around," he told her.

She turned and heard the click of his switchblade before her ropes were cut and her wrists were free. The first thing she did once she could move her arms was wrap them around Wyatt.

"Get me out of here. Let's go home," she asked as she embraced him.

He released her and then dragged her toward the door. "Fine by me."

They slid through and then ran. They ran back toward the main door where gunfire was being exchanged. They passed Rufus but didn't even pause. Wyatt dragged her along, calling out over his shoulder as they ran. They didn't stop until they reached the Lifeboat and it was only then that she remembered their original mission.

"Reagan!" She yelled as Wyatt was hoisting her up. "Did we stop them? Did they swap John Wayne and Reagan?"

She heard Wyatt laugh from behind her. "You would remember that now. Yes, Lucy, we stopped them. Mission accomplished."

She climbed up and then collapsed into her chair. "Good."

He followed her and then shut the hatch behind him. He sat down in his chair and reached for her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. My neck is a little sore and I landed on my hip pretty hard but otherwise I'm fi-" She cut off her own sentence as Wyatt's hands reached for her wrists.

They were red and slightly raw from the rope and from her struggle to get free of her chair. The rope burns left her feeling a constant dull sting. It hurt but wasn't excrutiating. Not like her hip. She was going to be black and blue there shortly. But Wyatt seemed focused on the marks he could easily see.

He held one wrist in each hand as his thumbs ran over the angry marks. "When we found Rufus unconscious outside my mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario," he admitted as his voice caught in his throat. His pain was obvious as he continued. "I thought you'd be gone for another six weeks at least - probably longer."

"How did you find me?" She asked.

"Overheard a security guard reporting that he spotted trespassers near the Wizard of Oz stage. We took a shot," Wyatt answered before he brought one of her wrists to his lips for an apologetic kiss. Though, she had no idea why he was apologizing. "You were already escaping when I found you. How?"

"Jessica bound my wrists around a wooden folding chair. Not _to_ the chair. Didn't even bind my ankles either. I'm grateful for it, but it was definitely strange. I would assume she was trained better than that. I don't know. She seemed...off her game," Lucy replied with a furrowed brow. "And a little desperate. She—she kept talking about forcing you to join her at Rittenhouse."

"Hell no," Wyatt said with a sneer. "That's never going to happen and she knows it."

"Yeah, she does. I'm pretty sure that's why she took me. To trade my safety for your allegiance to Rittenhouse," Lucy told him with a concerned glance. "I'm sorry, Wyatt."

She removed her hands from his and retreated as far as she could to her side of the Lifeboat, which wasn't far. He gave her a startled look and leaned forward to fill the vacant space she left behind.

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong, Lucy."

"No, but my mother did," Lucy told him with a shake of her head. It was a hurtful truth that she was going to have to live with for the rest of her life. "It's because of her that you're facing off against Jessica to begin with. Jessica said a lot of crazy things while she had me but she was right about one thing; family should be on the same side. You shouldn't have to fight the love of your life. It may not be my doing but it happened because of how I feel about you, and I'm sorry."

He stared at her in confounded silence for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably mere minutes, before he spoke again. "Not a single bit of what you said makes any sense. You know that, don't you?"

"Wyatt—"

"No, it's my turn now," he said as he interrupted her. "I need to make something very clear to you, right now. Before we go any further." He paused and grabbed her hands, lacing their fingers together. " _You_ are the love of my life. Not Jessica. _You_. The fact that you don't know that is my own fault. I get that. But I'm not fighting the love of my life because the love of my life is _you_. And as for Jessica being your fault, that's bullshit and you know it. Don't take the blame for your mother's crimes. She did that on her own and you had no say in it. You couldn't have known."

She knew she should listen to all of what he said but the only thing sticking in her emotionally exhausted brain at the moment was the first half of his speech. It couldn't be true. She spent nearly all of their relationship thinking she would never measure up to Jessica, whether she was a ghost or a Rittenhouse agent. Yes, she knew Wyatt loved her but could he really love her the way he loved Jessica? Was that possible? She told herself no and repeated it until she believed it. It made the decision to give him up once Jessica came back quick and easy. It was _easy_ to believe that while Wyatt cared about her, it wasn't love.

And she was just now realizing that even after he told her the words, she was still telling herself no. It was why the Journal bothered her so much. It was _easier_ to believe she was somehow lesser than Jessica.

"I—I'm the love of your life?" Lucy asked in confusion. "But I can't be. I mean you fought so hard for her, Wyatt. You stole a time machine, you got arrested and locked up in a black site for her, you—"

"I tried to break out of the Bunker while you were missing. Told Christopher to court martial me. Banned her from the Lifeboat even though she's technically my C-O and I'm required to do as she says. Punched a goddamn tile wall and lost. Nearly lost my fucking mind. And that's just while Rittenhouse had you. I could keep going about my mental state when Flynn took you after the shit show that was David Rittenhouse's assassination, but I think you get the picture."

"That's a lot of information in a very short amount of time. You really told Christopher to—No, it doesn't matter, Wyatt. That's...that's different," she told him, biting her bottom lip as she let his words soak in.

"Why?" He asked with a meaningful glance. "Because it was you and not Jessica?" He reached out a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You're just gonna have to accept it, Luce."

"Accept what?" She asked as his hand paused to cup her cheek.

"Accept the fact that I love you with everything I am and that I always will," he told her a warm confident smile. "And that if I were to lose you now I wouldn't fucking stop until you were back where you belonged. With me. End of story — No, scratch that. _Beginning_ of story. Our story."

Her eyes were watering as she leaned into his hand and, for the life of her, she couldn't hold back the beaming smile breaking across her face. "I can't be the love of your life, Wyatt."

"Why not?" He asked curiously.

"Because you're the love of _my_ life and I'm not that lucky."

"Luck has nothing to do with it, ma'am," Wyatt told her with a smirk. "It's not luck when we're meant to be."

She chuckled and then leaned across the little bit of space left between them to kiss him soundly. She pulled back with a grin. "You," she said as she kissed him again, quickly. "Are." Another fast peck. "Impossible." The fourth kiss lingered with her tongue teasing his bottom lip.

He groaned as he opened his mouth to her. His arms wrapped around her and yanked her into his lap. On any other day she wouldn't have minded, but on any other day she wouldn't have just smashed her hip against a concrete floor. She let out a tortured whimper against his mouth and reared back from the kiss.

"What the hell?" Wyatt asked as he eased his grip on her sides. "What was that? You said you were okay." His blue eyes met hers, clouded with concern.

"I _am_ okay," she assured him. "I broke the chair to escape and when I did I hit the floor pretty hard. But I'm fine. I promise."

He glared at her skeptically. "Let me look at it."

"Now?" She asked. "Flynn and Rufus could be back at any moment and it's not exactly in an easily exposed spot. Trust me, Wyatt. I'm fine."

"Yeah, I've heard that before," he said dryly. "Where's the zipper on this skirt?"

He found it without her direction and she felt him tug it down before she could slap his hands away. Just as the zipper reached the bottom of its track the hatch opened with Rufus on the other side of it.

Rufus' eyebrows rose before he sighed tiredly and shook his head. He motioned to Wyatt's hands on her zipper before he addressed them. "The trunk of Wendell Scott's car is one thing, guys, but _please_ keep your hormones in check while inside my time machine, okay?"

"Oh, no he wasn't trying to—"

Wyatt interrupted her explanation with a mischievous smirk and then nodded. "Sorry, man. Yeah, sure thing. We'll keep it in check in the future."

"No you won't," Rufus said plainly as he climbed the rest of the way inside the Lifeboat.

"No," Wyatt said with an unashamed smile. "We won't."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him but couldn't help but share a heated glance as he slowly zipped her skirt backup "You're shameless."

"And you wouldn't have me any other way," Wyatt told her with a smug smile.

The worst part was that he was absolutely right. She wouldn't have him any other way. He was the love of her life for exactly who he was already. No matter how infuriatingly shameless he could be.


	10. September 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** TODAY IS THE DAY. IT AIRS TODAY. GUYS. TODAY. OMG. WE'RE GONNA DIE SUCH A GOOD DEATH.
> 
> HAPPY READING! (sorry if this chapter is only "meh" I'm not really crazy about this one but hopefully you guys like it.)
> 
> ANGELLWINGS

* * *

_September 2019_

* * *

Since Jessica's almost successful attempted kidnapping Wyatt had been on edge during every jump. It didn't matter that Emma seemed to have benched her. They hadn't seen even the barest flash of dark blonde hair on a mission in weeks so Lucy assumed Jessica's disobedience got her grounded from the Lifeboat for a while. But she could tell the worry and the stress of facing off against Jessica was getting to him.

So, when Emma was wounded with a bullet to the shoulder, thanks to Wyatt, Lucy seized her opening. Emma would need several days to be fit enough to pilot the Mothership again. Opportunities like this didn't come along every day. Which is exactly what she told Agent Christopher when she begged her for a weekend away.

"Come on," Lucy whispered as she cornered Denise in the kitchen. "You've seen what he's been like since our last run in with Jessica. He needs a break. He's barely let myself or Rufus out of his sight on our missions. He's terrified Jessica might try again. He may not seem terrified to you, but I know him. He needs time away from this tin can and the Lifeboat. This may be my only chance to get him out of here. And if Emma decides to be suicidal and jump before she's had a chance to heal then we'll come right back. You can even send a few agents with us for security. In fact, I need you to otherwise Wyatt won't relax."

Denise stared at her for a long moment with a mix of disapproval and sympathy before finally nodding.

"Fine, but you'll have two agents who will drive you there, be posted outside your location, and then drive you back. Now through Sunday okay with you?" Denise asked.

"Um, yes, but I haven't even picked a location for us to—"

"You won't get to," Denise told her with an apologetic smile. "You'll go to whatever safehouse we have available."

Lucy narrowed her gaze on the Agent. "When you safehouse you had better be referring to an actual _house_. There's no point to this if we go from one underground bunker to another."

"I understand," Denise told her as she reached out and squeezed Lucy's arm. "Just get the two of you packed up. I'll take care of it."

Lucy had Rufus pack Wyatt a bag while she packed her own. She wanted this to be a surprise. Mostly because he deserved it but also because he had been laser focused on tracking Rittenhouse lately. She wasn't sure he would agree to go in advance. He spent every day with Rufus in front of those monitors trying to track Emma down with facial recognition software. His mission oriented mind was showing itself more and more lately, and were they still at Mason Industries that would be completely fine. Because they could clock out at the end of the day. They could leave the office and have time for themselves. But they can't do that now. They're trapped with their work and take downtime whenever they can manage it.

Wyatt was once again at the monitors, with Jiya this time, when Lucy threw his Army duffle down at his feet.

"Let's go, Soldier."

He looked up at her in surprise and then around the room at Rufus and Jiya for a prolonged moment. "Go where, exactly?"

"Away," Lucy answered as she tugged her own wheeled suitcase behind her. "Come on."

"We can't just leave," he said in confusion. "I nearly got court martialed for that once, you know."

"You can leave when someone's asked for permission," Denise answered with a smirk as she stepped into the room. "Which Lucy has. There are two agents waiting to escort you outside. It's all been cleared with my boss. The agents escorting you will bring you back Sunday night."

He stared at Christopher in shock before turning and pointing at the monitors. "But—"

"No," Jiya said as she locked the monitor and the screen turned black. "This can wait. Go. You're starting to act like a drill sargeant. By the way, if you ever come banging on my door again at four o'clock in the morning, I will kill you. Let the sun come up at least, dude."

When he still didn't move from his chair, Lucy stepped forward and grabbed his hand. She pulled him up from and then picked up the duffle bag and placed it in his arms. "Emma won't be jumping or out in public until that arm has a moment to heal. We need a change of scenery, you and me. So, come on, let's go."

"Wait, wait," Rufus said with a smirk, "I got this." He quirked an eyebrow at Wyatt and motioned to Flynn as he sat in the kitchen eating his cereal. "If you don't want to go, man, I'm _sure_ Flynn will."

Wyatt practically jumped into action after that and Lucy had to bite back a laugh as she gave Rufus a grateful glance.

"That won't be necessary," he said as he marched toward the bunker door. He opened the door and held it open for Lucy expectantly. "This was your plan, Professor. So, let's go."

And off they went.

They rode in the backseat of a big black SUV while the agents drove them several hours north of the bunker into the mountains. Lucy was glad she didn't actually know where they were going. There was no chance of lying to Wyatt because she was just as clueless as he was now. She could tell he was a bit put out at being forced to leave. He didn't ask as many questions as he normally would have. But he wasn't really mad either, if his hand in hers was any indication. He was just sitting on his side of the back seat, stoically staring out the window, and running his thumb across the back of her hand.

She wasn't sure what to say and she didn't want to bring it up until they were alone so that meant she sat in a stoic silence that mostly mirrored his own, except hers included anxious glances at Wyatt out of the corner of her eye. Was he mad? Or just annoyed? Did she cross a line she didn't know about?

Finally the car stopped…

In front of the most beautiful cabin she had ever seen in her life. It was huge and constructed out of stones and logs with rustic raised ceilings held up by large wooden beams. Absolutely gorgeous and, thankfully, well off the beaten path.

"This is a safe house?" Lucy asked one of the agents in the front seat. "I was expecting something a little more…"

"Run down?" Wyatt asked her with a knowing grin. "Like that rusted hell hole we live in?"

"Yes, actually," she said with a chuckle.

"Well, ma'am, it looks like we're living in style and above ground for the weekend," he told her with a smirk.

"Remember when we used to live above ground every day?" Lucy asked as she playfully exaggerated her nostalgia. "Those were the days."

Wyatt laughed lightly and then stepped out of the car. Instead of letting her step out the other door he held out his hand for her and helped her slide across the seat to exit out his side. He swung his duffel over his shoulder and then wheeled her bag behind him. She moved to reach for it but he shook his head at her.

"I got it," he told her.

There was no need for him to take both bags. She could carry her own suitcase. There was a lecture on the tip of her tongue about gender roles and expectations, and with anyone else she would have let it fly. But for Wyatt, taking her bag wasn't about gender roles. It was about showing her he cared. It was a small gesture that took a little bit of a load off of her shoulders. Simple as that.

She smiled warmly at him and nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

One agent walked ahead of them while another trailed behind. The one in front unlocked the door and as they stepped inside advised them that local field agents had stocked the kitchen before they arrived. They should have everything they needed and if they thought of something they just needed to ask.

The agent closed the door and they both heard the lock click a moment later.

"If we could be trapped in a place like this then I don't think I'd mind being locked in a safe house," Lucy told him as she glanced around the house. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully and she turned to look at the kitchen. "He said they stocked the fridge. What do you think they stocked it with?"

Wyatt smirked at her. "You're hoping for wine, aren't you?"

"Is that completely ridiculous?" She asked as she bit her bottom lip and gave him an eager glance.

"Are you gonna check or should I?" Wyatt asked her with a chuckle.

"I mean, we don't have to check _right_ now," Lucy said as her gaze drifted to the kitchen again.

Wyatt rolled his eyes at her with a teasing smile before dropping his duffle on the floor and walking over to the kitchen. She followed a few paces behind him and watched as he opened the door. A moment later he pulled out two chilled bottles, one red and one white, and sat them down on the counter.

"You're in luck, Professor," Wyatt answered with a grin. "They saw you coming."

"Good," she said with a contented sigh. "Now, if this place has a huge bathtub then I'm never leaving."

"Uh huh, so you live here now?" He asked with a mirthful glance.

"Absolutely, I do."

"Then I guess I'll have to move in here with you," Wyatt told her simply. "I'm not staying in that Bunker without you. It's hard enough staying in separate rooms like we're on some sort of supervised high school field trip."

He sounded genuinely frustrated by their rooming situation to the point of pouting. She laughed softly at him and then crossed kitchen to meet him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into him completely. He held her firmly with his hands on the small of her back.

"I hate to say this," she said as she slipped a hand into the hair on the back of his head. "But you're cute when you pout." His eyebrows rose and a crooked smile started to form on his face. She tugged lightly at the hair at the base of his neck and glared at him. "But _don't_ make a habit of it."

"I mean if you think it's cute—"

She said nothing but shook her head at him.

"So, what was your goal in getting me out here, Ma'am?" Wyatt asked her with a quirked brow.

"No real _goal_ ," she answered. "I just…" She paused and moved her hands from the back of his neck to either side of his face. Her hands scrubbed against his stubble as she continued. "I could tell you needed a break. You've been working nonstop to try and locate Emma. You can't maintain that, Wyatt."

"We can't maintain a life in that bunker either, Luce," he told her honestly. "It's bound to bother you eventually if we never do anything like a normal relationship. Actual dating, moving in together - _building a life_ not hiding from it."

Her hands ceased their caressing on his cheeks as her concerned gaze searched his face. "You mean...you've been working yourself ragged for me? _For us?_ "

"I want this to work out and I'm afraid if we stay trapped in this holding pattern with Rittenhouse then we'll never really get it off the ground," he admitted.

She found fear and uncertainty in his eyes and it was jarring. He had been so steady through all of this. When she was weak, he was strong. Now, it was her turn to be strong. This one would be easy because in her mind where they lived had no bearing on their relationship. It only mattered if they were together.

"Do you really want a _normal_ relationship?" She asked him with a grin. "I mean let's say there was no attack on Mason Industries and all this ended with those original Rittenhouse arrests. And—"

"We picked up where possibilities left off?" He asked her with a soft smile.

"Yes, exactly. Would that really have been better than Hollywood in 1941? Or the smuggler's hold of Old Rusty?"

His soft smile turned wolfish and he nodded. "The smuggler's hold of Old Rusty was pretty great. Though, it would have been better if Rufus and Wendell could have given us another minute or two."

"I mean, we could probably find a closet and try it again if you wanted to," Lucy offered in sultry tone.

"Aren't you still claustrophobic or… **."** He let his sentence trail off as he kept his heated gaze on hers with an amused grin.

"Not so much when you're around," Lucy told him with a coy smile. "You're only slightly distracting."

She leaned up onto her toes and met his lips with hers in slow and tender kiss. She walked them back through the kitchen and into the living room, kissing Wyatt eagerly as they walked. She pushed him toward the largest, plushest couch in the room until his legs hit the front of it and he stumbled down into a sitting position. He laughed against her lips before she pulled back just long enough to straddle him and settle in.

Before she could reel him back in for more kisses, he pulled back with an unsure look. "You really don't care if we never have-" he stopped and motioned to the room around them. "-anything remotely close to _this_? Our own space for our own life?"

She gave him an affectionate smile as she ran her hands through his hair soothingly. "Would I like for us to have our space for our own life? Of course I would. But do I need it in order be with you? To _love you_? Of course not. That bunker may be a hell hole but if it means being with you then I'll gladly live there for the rest of my life if I have to. As long as we keep supporting each other then no environment we're in will keep me from wanting a future with you. No matter what that future looks like."

His head tilted and his eyes narrowed at her last few words. She saw the corners of his mouth tip upward and the worry in his eyes decreased. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

"It means I'm no longer scared of Future Lucy," she answered with a determined nod. "She let the distance fester. She let her pride get the better of her and opted for easier paths over the the correct ones. She chickened out. She let fear of getting hurt again keep her from the person she wanted most. I'm _not_ going to do that. I will never be her for that reason. I'm not scared of becoming her because I won't _let myself_ become her. I want to move forward with you."

"Okay," Wyatt said slowly as he gave her a grin and a measuring glance. "Then I have a question I've been wanting to ask you for months now. And feel free to say no, but I feel like I have an opening here."

"I'm intrigued," she said as she lifted a curious brow. "Go ahead, ask."

"Can moving forward also mean moving in?" He asked hesitantly, as if he were afraid of the answer.

"Moving in?" She replied. "You mean permanently switching rooms with Rufus?"

He nodded and looked away from her to focus on his hands as they landed on her hips. She was convinced he would look at anything just to avoid her eyes in that moment.

She placed a hand under his chin and tilted his face up to hers with a beaming smile. "Wyatt, I would love that."

"Really? You would?" He asked in disbelief.

Always with the disbelief. Did he really think she would say no?

"I hate sleeping without you so, yes, there is nothing I want more," she said as she leaned her forehead against his. "Do you think Rufus and Jiya would go for it?"

"Rufus and I talked about it months ago. He's been waiting on me to work up the nerve to ask you," Wyatt admitted with an embarrassed blush.

"And now that you have," she said as she ran her hands over his shoulders and down his chest. "We have the whole weekend to celebrate. You know, before we're forced to go back to those awful cots."

He laughed at her teasingly as her hands fisted around the bottom hem of his t-shirt. "They're not that bad, Luce. I've slept on worse. Trust me."

She tugged the shirt up and off and then held up her arms for him to return the favor. He did.

"Well, I feel sorry for you then, but if we live in that bunker much longer I'm petitioning Christopher for a _real_ bed, Sweetheart."

"I don't think a real bed would fit in our room, Babydoll," he said with a chuckle.

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to his. "Our room, huh?"

His now confident glance roamed her face. She could practically see him memorizing her every feature. He nodded against her forehead. " _Our room_ ," he confirmed. "Yours and mine."

"I like that," she said with a happy sigh before she kissed his lips slowly. When the kiss was done she let her lips hover just over his as she spoke. "And I love you."

"I love you too," he replied as she felt one of his hands on the back of her neck. She knew what that meant. He was a moment away from pulling her into a searing, toe curling kiss.

She was now as convinced of their future as he was and she had a lot of hopes for them, but at the top of that list was the hope that their chemistry - their kisses - never changed. She loved him passionately with all she had in her and she planned to prove that every day for the rest of her life. He was worth the effort. He was always worth the effort.


	11. October 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** IT HAPPENED! THE MOVIE HAPPENED AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. OMG. I HAVE NOT RECOVERED WHICH IS WHY THIS CHAPTER IS TWO DAYS LATE. SORRY. Hopefully I can post another by the end of the day today and only be a day behind instead of three.
> 
> **HAPPY READING.**
> 
> angellwings

He spent so much time worried that Jessica was going to go after Lucy again that he never event stopped to consider she might come after _him_. He should have. Because now it was too late. She had him. He was bound and thrown in the back of an ambulance in 1978. Perfect. That left Rufus, Jiya, and Lucy out there in the past without him. He had no doubt the ambulance was headed toward the Mothership. Emma was driving while Jessica sat in the back opposite him.

His vision was fuzzy from the pain in the back of his head where Emma had sucker punched him. This kidnapping attempt appeared to be more thought out than Lucy's. He was tied to the gurney by both his wrists and his ankles. There would be no escape this time. She used rope and not handcuffs. He would have settled for zip ties before rope. Zip ties he could break, handcuffs he could unlock, but rope? That was more difficult.

"I thought Emma didn't want me on your side?" Wyatt asked Jessica with a wince as he tried to move his head. "She's helping you?"

"I told Lucy she would come around and she did. Besides, Emma decided that if we can't _persuade_ you to join us then we'll kill you. So, at the very least Lucy's down one teammate. It's a win-win for her," Jessica answered with a shrug as she leaned across to lean on the gurney.

Her hand reached out toward his cheek and Wyatt pulled away from her.

"That's a nasty cut," Jessica said with a quirked brow.

"Yeah, that's what happens when you get punched by someone wearing a ring," Wyatt told her with a glare as he glanced down at her engagement ring and wedding band.

"Sorry about that," she said with a tired sigh. "I had to stall you until Emma arrived."

"Right, stall me so you could kidnap me. Much better," He told her with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm just trying to make sure you're on the right side of this war. With me," Jessica said as she huffed. "Why does no one get that? We're a family, Wyatt. We should be on the same side."

"We're not a family, Jessica," Wyatt answered slowly. How and why did she still think this? "We're not even husband and wife anymore. You know that, right?"

"Not right now," she answered. "But we can be again."

"No, we can't," Wyatt said with a determined edge to his voice.

The ambulance stopped and Jessica opened the back doors before sitting back down to wait. He wasn't sure what she was waiting on but Emma got out of the driver's seat and walked away from them.

"Why? because of Lucy?" Jessica asked as she pointed a bored glance at him.

"Because I don't love you, Jessica," Wyatt told her honestly. "I did once and a part of me always will, but I don't now and that won't change.

"You don't know what."

"Yes, I do. You are my past. I stopped chasing my past a while ago. I found something else that I'd much rather live for." He tugged at the ropes on the gurney, hoping one would wiggle loose. None did.

"What's that?" She asked. Her tone was flat and stoic. She either knew his answer or didn't care.

"The future," he replied. "The present. The people who loved me back to life in so many ways. _My home_. That home isn't with you."

"You say that now," Jessica told him as a sickening grin spread across her face. "But I think you'll change your tune after a few weeks. You'll see our side is where you truly belong. And then it will be you and me, changing history together. You'll love it."

"Go ahead and try it," Wyatt challenged. "It won't work. You can do your worst but I am never going to choose Rittenhouse over my team - my actual _family_."

"You mean Lucy."

"Yes, I mean Lucy. She's the love of my life, Jess. As hard as that is for you to hear, that's the truth. You and I never worked like we wanted to and you know it. On again, off again, at each other's throats...it never fit even when we tried to force it. We had some great moments but that's all they were. _Moments_ ," Wyatt said as he sighed tiredly. "Don't do this. Not to Lucy. She's already lost too much. I'm trained to resist programming if that's your plan. It'll be a waste of everyone's time."

Jessica let out a bitter laugh before she spoke again. "Why would I let you go?" She asked dryly. "This is my perfect opportunity. You traveled without your back up this time. There's no Flynn on this jump to barge in with his gun trained on me. Without him all you have is two stone cold nerds and a _teacher_. Which one of those three do you really think is going catch up to us before we leave?"

"The _teacher_."

The steely voice sounded as though it were gritted through teeth and Wyatt's eyes immediately flew toward it. _Lucy_. Jessica turned swiftly and found Lucy standing at the open ambulance doors with her gun pointed straight at her.

"Let him go," she commanded. "Or I'll shoot."

"Or we could just stand here till Emma comes back," Jessica said with a smirk. "She'd love to get her hands on you."

"Emma has her hands full with those stone cold nerds you mentioned. You're on your own," Lucy told her with a glare. "Now untie him or I'll shoot."

"Sure you—"

A shot rang out and Jessica collapsed to the floor.

"You _bitch_ ," he heard Jessica sneer from the ambulance floor.

So, Lucy hadn't killed her.

"Stay put or my next bullet hits something vital," Lucy promised as she climbed into the ambulance. Lucy searched Jessica for a gun and found one in the waistband of her jeans. She threw it across the ambulance from them and then turned half of her attention on Wyatt. "You okay? You're bleeding."

"A couple of bumps and bruises and a massive headache," He assured her. "I'm fine."

Lucy's hand that wasn't holding the gun reached into his jacket pocket for his switchblade. She swiftly cut the ropes while keeping one eye on Jessica. Once he was free Lucy helped him stand and then focused completely on the enemy in their midst.

"You come after him again and I _will_ kill you," Lucy swore. "I don't care who's ex-wife you are."

Wyatt smirked at the back of Lucy's head before grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the door. He glanced out briefly and found no one else around. "Come on, the coast is clear now. Let's go home."

Lucy picked up Jessica's gun from where she'd thrown it and handed it to Wyatt. "Fine by me."

They hopped down off the ambulance and ran. His head still hurt something fierce, but at least he'd escaped his captor. It was the exact reverse of Lucy's abduction a few months ago. They ran for their lives toward the Lifeboat and made it there before Rufus or Jiya. As soon as the hatch closed Wyatt groaned in pain and sat down. Not even a second later, Lucy was in front of him, her knees knocking his. She nudged his legs apart with her own so she could stand in between them.

Her hand went into his hair and then slid backward. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling if her hands massaging lightly over his scalp. He knew what she was doing. She was inspecting him for injuries.

"Emma hit you pretty hard in the back of the head," she said softly as her hand paused over the back curve of his head. "You've got a bump starting right here."

His hands went around her waist and pulled her to him until she was forced to lean her weight against him or fall over. "I don't care about the bump. Just don't stop doing what you're doing. My head is killing me and that's doing wonders."

She sighed worriedly but did as he asked. She brought one hand to his face and grazed a finger under the cut on his cheek. This time, unlike with Jessica, he didn't pull away. Her brow was wrinkled in concern as her eyes met his.

"I'm fine," he assured her. "I've had worse."

"Yes, but this was Jessica, Wyatt. Not some faceless goon," she said as she continued to run a hand through his hair. "I heard what she said you about being a family again. She said the same sort of thing to me. You have a history with her so I would understand if it upset you—"

"That's exactly it, Lucy. It's history. She manipulated me and lied to my face. I won't let her do that anymore. So, I'm _fine._ I was mostly worried that I would never make it back to you," he told her as he grabbed the hand that was caressing his cheek and brought it to his lips. He then held it tight and grinned up at her. "You were a badass, by the way."

"Yeah, well, that happens when I'm pissed off and through with someone always trying to separate us. I mean, I've had my limit of successful and attempted kidnappings for one lifetime," she replied with a huff.

"Me too," Wyatt agreed as he reached up and put a hand under her chin. He used that hand to guide her lips down to his. He kissed her slowly and sweetly with every bit of gratitude and love he could muster. He pulled away and then met her eyes with a grin. "We make a hell of a team, Lucy Preston. You're my true partner in all of this and in life. Never doubt that. No matter what else happens, it's you and me together. Agreed?"

A large smile spread across her face as she nodded. "Agreed. Preston and Logan against the world. Always."

Always was a beautiful word. It was a promise he was more than willing to make and something he planned to make official. Eventually. When Lucy was ready for it. She seemed much closer to being ready now. He could see the change in her and the magnitude of her investment in the two of them. There was no more one foot out the door. She was _in_.

The ball was in his court now and hiding in a lockbox under their bed. All that was left to do was find the right time, and the courage, to ask.


	12. November 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Okay I am now caught up. This is yesterday's chapter. One more to go, you guys. I don't know if I'll get it posted today, but I'm going to try my best. I have work and then family celebrations tomorrow so we'll see. I should have seen the finale feels derailing me coming from a mile away. But man was I ever UNPREPARED. That finale was like FANFIC COME TO LIFE. I HAVE NEVER SEEN A TELEVISION FINALE LIKE IT EVER. I'M ON MY SIXTH REWATCH RIGHT NOW AS I EDIT. THE QUESTION IS, WILL EVER STOP WATCHING IT? NOT LIKELY. ALSO I AM SO EXCITED TO READ ALL THE FIC IT INSPIRES YOU GUYS. I HAVE TALKED TO SO MANY AUTHORS WHO ARE ALREADY PLANNING THINGS AND I AM PUMPED. LET'S GO, FAM. BRING IT.
> 
> Anyway, happy reading!
> 
> angellwings

He looked back over his shoulder as he entered the room and shut the heavy metal door behind him. Hopefully, no one would notice he was missing for several minutes. He pulled Grandpa Sherwin's lockbox out from under the bed and opened it. Sitting on top was a small round ring box covered in black velvet. He took a deep breath as he stared at it. This had become a daily routine. Stare at the ring and think and try not to be terrified of Lucy's hypothetical answer.

He didn't even know how she felt about marriage. They never talked about it. Or kids. They talked about their pasts and their childhoods, trying to retroactively get to know those things that should have come before falling in love, but the future was dangerous. They didn't know what it held for them.

He reached for the ring box just as the door began to creak and hurriedly shut the lockbox and tucked it back under the bed. A moment after he tucked it out of view the door opened wide enough to reveal Lucy.

Casual, wonderfully normal Lucy Preston in jeans and a sweater. She toed off her shoes as she crossed the threshold of their room and grinned at him.

"Retreating for a Thanksgiving Day nap already?" She asked with a chuckle. "Too much turkey?"

He smiled at her in amusement as she crossed the room and then spread out across their beds which were shoved together and made like one bed complete with homey throw pillows. They'd been officially sharing a room for two months yet sometimes he still didn't believe it. She rolled onto her side and propped her head up with her arm.

"Are you up for some company during your nap?" She asked with a suggestive grin and a quirked brow.

He followed her lead and kicked off his shoes. "Trust me, Lucy, when it comes to you I am always up for company."

He slid into bed next to her and they both automatically shifted until her head was on his chest and his arms were wrapped around her. This was a habit now. A good habit. One he hoped he never had to break.

"Can I…" He hesitated as soon as the words started to leave his mouth.

"Can you what?" Lucy asked as she tilted her head up to look at him.

"Can I ask you something?"

She grinned at him with a mirthful expression and nodded. "Anything you want, Wyatt."

"After everything we've seen and been through, how do you feel about...marriage?" Wow, that was painful to ask. Did it sound as awkward as it felt? Probably, right?

Her eyes widened in surprise as they met his. "You—you want to talk about marriage? I wasn't sure you would want to. I mean with the way things went with Jessica, in either timeline—"

"What happened with Jessica was about myself and Jessica, not marriage itself," he said as he cut off her sentence. He knew where that train of thought was going. He wanted her to understand. "Even in the original timeline if Jessica wasn't Rittenhouse, we had issues. We had issues because we grew apart, not together. Throw in deployments and all the time she spent alone and by the end it was beyond anything she signed up for. We were too young and impulsive and we didn't know as much as we thought we did. It just...it was never right. I see that now. I didn't before because I got so caught up in my grief and my guilt, but I've been remembering things little by little and we were both awful for each other. It wasn't marriage that destroyed my relationship with Jessica. We did that to ourselves."

He felt her hands caressing his face in a soothing act of comfort as she nodded and replied. "And you don't think that would happen with us?"

"If that were going to happen with us, it would have by now," Wyatt answered honestly. "We've had plenty of opportunities for that resentment to grow and it hasn't. Do you know why?"

She was quiet for a moment as she thought back through his words and then finally she spoke. "Because we've grown together. Side by side. Right?"

"Exactly," he told her as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We've both changed since all of this started, but we've changed as a unit. We've adapted to each other's mistakes and consequences and all the lessons learned. We're actual _partners_ in a way Jessica and I never could have been. So, marriage with the right person would be completely different than any experience I've ever had with it."

"Makes sense," she said with a nod and a pensive expression. "The only marriage I've really seen up close is my parents. They had problems too. Huge arguments sometimes, but they always worked it out. The next day it would be like none of it ever happened. Although, now I no longer know how much of that was real. And I wonder sometimes just how much my father knew. Was my mother always Rittenhouse or did she change because she never met Henry? Did he know that I wasn't his daughter? If he did he never acted like it, and then for me to even be here my mother had to have cheated on him because they were married well before I was born."

Her brow furrowed and she curled further into him. He could tell these were things she didn't like to think about. Thoughts she had but then pushed away.

"Growing up I thought their relationship was so simple. But now given everything that I've learned...I don't know. I wonder sometimes if it was all a lie. And that...that scares me. It doesn't put me off the whole thing, don't get me wrong, but it just makes me realize that marriage is complicated. It's difficult. It's committing your whole life to one person and taking on their struggles as your own. You have to be prepared for that, like you said. You feel like you and Jessica weren't prepared. Before I take that leap, I'd like to be confident that we can share each other's burdens completely." She looked up at him then and smiled contentedly. "And we've been working on that. We've been sharing more and more of ourselves with each other. I'd take on anything for you. Share any of your pain and offer you as much comfort as I could — and I feel as though that made no sense and I have talked in a complete circle."

She blushed in embarrassment and hid her face in his chest. But she didn't need to. He understood her.

"So, then, you think we're ready for that?" He asked curiously. That was the impression he got from her answer.

"I think that… **.** " She paused, looked back up at him, and bit her bottom lip before continuing nervously. "I'm ready when you are."

He smiled warmly at her and then dipped his mouth down to hers for a relieved kiss. They stumbled their way through this conversation with much less awkwardness than he anticipated. The question of when he was proposing wasn't really the question anymore. The question was _how_. He would figure that out later, but for now he wanted to enjoy this moment. The kiss deepened and Lucy's arms wrapped tighter around him, pulling him toward her until he was bracing himself over her with her legs wrapped around his.

She was the rest of his life. This was the rest of his life...with her. The future was theirs to define and create together.


	13. Christmas Eve 2019

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N:** Okay, so it's time to tell you all a little secret I've been keeping about this story. Now that we're here at the end I can tell you…
> 
> This story is set in the Liv Universe. It is the prequel to Sun Sun Sun and Long as There Are Stars. Hence the inclusion of Jessica and her constant talk of "Family". If you don't know who Liv is or what either of those stories are I have now made this story the first in that series on Ao3 so you can click the arrow to find out. If you're on FFN then you can find those other stories on my profile listed under "Sun, Sun, Sun (Here It Comes)".
> 
> This series stands alone and you can take from it what you will, but I just thought you should know this is the story of Lucy and Wyatt before Liv. ;)
> 
> Happy reading and Merry Christmas!
> 
> Angellwings

Wyatt was up to something. Lucy hadn't quite figured out what, but he spent all of Christmas Eve looking secretive and smug. It left her very suspicious. Especially when he disappeared a few hours ago while she and Rufus were on dish duty.

Speaking of Rufus, she was sitting next to him on the couch during the tail end of _Die Hard_ while Wyatt and Jiya were chatting secretly at one of the kitchen tables. She leaned toward Rufus with a furrowed brow.

"What do you think they're talking about?" She asked him.

"Our Christmas presents, probably," Rufus told her with a shrug.

"Wyatt's been weird tonight, hasn't he?" Lucy said with a skeptical glance.

"No weirder than usual." Rufus grinned at her and turned away from the movie. "Why? Surely you're not worried? He's stupid in love with you."

"No, nothing like that," she replied. Though it was a little like that. They had a strange discussion about commitment and marriage over a month ago that hadn't led anywhere so far. "It just seems like he's up to something."

"Well, it's Christmas, Lucy. Maybe he is. Whatever it is, it's probably a surprise. You really want to ruin it by figuring it out?" Rufus asked her with a quirked brow. "Let him have his grand gestures. The dude is a hopeless romantic whether he admits it out loud or not."

That was all very true and Rufus was probably right. She would be a killjoy if she figured out what it was if it was a surprise for her. She was going to have to let it go. Whatever it was couldn't be bad. Wyatt had been smiling all night. If it were bad then wouldn't he be in a completely opposite mood?

The evening moved on from _Die Hard_ to _Home Alone_. Wyatt and Jiya joined them in front of the small flat screen in time for the second movie. Wyatt sat down in the arm chair and Lucy motioned for Jiya to take her place on the couch next to Rufus.

Lucy moved over to the chair and settled herself on Wyatt's lap. One of his arms went around her waist and the other settled on her thigh while her arms went around his shoulders.

"You know," she told him with a warm smile. "Today marks our one year anniversary."

He smirked knowingly and quirked a brow at her. "Oh? Does it?"

She smacked his shoulder with a playful glare. "You know very well that it does."

"You mean do I remember that this time last year we were standing in your doorway making out under the mistletoe?" He asked her with a crooked grin. "Kinda hard to forget, Luce."

She dipped her head until her lips were pressed to his ear. When she spoke her voice was low and sultry. "Then maybe we should ditch these guys and recreate it. You know, to celebrate."

His eyes widened and he smiled eagerly. She felt his hand squeeze her thigh briefly before he turned toward Jiya and Rufus. "You know, it's getting kinda late." He cleared his throat and feigned a yawn. "Plus we're getting up early to open presents and have breakfast so we should probably hit the hay."

Lucy let out stunted chuckle at his use of "hit the hay" and buried her face in his shoulder to keep from laughing out loud. He poked her side and she squirmed but didn't lift her head from his shoulder for fear that Rufus and Jiya would see her amused expression.

"See? Lucy's already falling asleep on me," Wyatt told them, which did not help her control her laughter _at all_. She made sure to let him know with a discreet tug at his hair.

"Right, yeah okay," Rufus replied. Lucy could hear the suspicion in his voice and she was sure it was written all over his face. Though she wouldn't dare look up from Wyatt's shoulder to find out for sure. "We'll see you in the morning."

Lucy stood and waved weakly at Rufus and Jiya before walking off down the hallway first. Wyatt said their goodnights and followed after her. She heard his heavier, faster footfalls behind her a moment before his arms grabbed her from behind and pulled her to his chest. She bit back a startled yelp and then turned in his arms.

"You realize they saw right through us, don't you?" Lucy asked him with a teasing smirk.

"I wish I cared," Wyatt told her with a wide unashamed smile. He walked her backwards toward their room before letting his hands drift down to the back of her thighs and lifting her against him. She wrapped her legs around his waist and locked her ankles. They kissed and laughed and stumbled down the hall until her back hit their door frame. He set her her down and then propped an arm on the doorway over her shoulder.

"Happy Anniversary, ma'am," Wyatt told her with a warm smile.

He backed up to the opposite side of the doorway and then briefly glanced up, over their heads. She instinctively followed his gaze and found that famous leafy green sprig with white berries and red ribbon hovering above them.

She beamed at him and laughed lightly. "You sneak. Is this what you've been smirking about all evening? Recreating our big moment from last year?"

Big gesture. Just like Rufus said. She should have known. She stood with her back against the doorframe and waited for him to cross the distance, to take part in the all too familiar custom. He started to lean in, or so she thought, but his lips never met hers.

No, instead he dropped down to the floor.

On one knee. One _bent_ knee.

Her mouth dropped open and she gasped loudly. She knew what was coming next and yet she didn't believe it. His hand reached into his shirt pocket, the one just over his heart, and pulled out a ring. It looked old. It had a flat, wide stone with a thin gold band. It was beautiful. Elegant. Classic. It had a very understated glamour to it that spoke to her.

That's when it hit her.

This was happening and it was happening _now_.

Her eyes watered and she brought her right hand to cover her gaping mouth, lest she look like a walleyed fish. She felt the water pooling in her eyes and then sniffled as she felt a tear fall and roll over her hand.

"Is it good sign that you're crying before I've even said a word?" Wyatt asked with his own tearful eyes and a small nervous grin.

Lucy nodded adamantly as she took in a deep fortifying breath, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.

So he did.

"There were times where I genuinely doubted this moment would come," he told her honestly. "Times when I just knew I was too much of a stupid jackass to deserve you. Times where I thought you had finally realized you were too good for me. Times where I worried I had made too many mistakes and lost you forever." God, his face looked so guilty. She wanted nothing more than to interrupt him and tell him all the ways that wasn't ever true, but she held back. This was his moment, she needed to let him finish it. "But then… **."** He paused and a soft smile formed across his lips. "There were times where you looked at me and it was like I could do anything. Times where you saw me more clearly than I saw myself. Times where you cared for me and healed me when I didn't deserve it. In the middle of all of this insane time travel _hell_ we've been through you've become my best friend and my partner. The person who hears me out without judgement, the person who urges me to better, and the one person I can _never_ live without. Which is why I don't plan to, not if I can help it." He took her left hand in his and held it tightly. "Lucy Preston, will you—"

"Yes. God, yes."

The smile he gave her was electric, she could have seen it in the dark clear as day. "You didn't let me finish it."

She knelt down across from him and cupped his cheek with her right hand, scrubbing her hand against his stubble as she did. "Right, sorry. Continue," she said with a watery smile that matched his glowing one almost completely.

"Lucy Preston, will you marry me?"

The sound that left her throat was a mix between a squeal and a laugh while she threw her into body into his. Her arms went around his neck and her chest was pressed as closely against his at it possibly could. She peppered kisses along his cheek before reaching his lips and speaking between quick joyful liplocks.

"Yes." Small kiss. "Yes." Slightly longer kiss that resulted in Wyatt trying to snag her bottom lip between his teeth. "And across a million timelines, _yes_."

He slipped the ring on her finger and then crushed her in an embrace. He stood while still holding her tightly and spun her around once before letting her feet touch the floor again. "You're sure?" He asked as he pulled back to meet her eyes.

"Never been more sure about anything in my life," she promised him. "I want this. I want _you_ for the rest of my life."

And then he finally did kiss her under the mistletoe. He kissed her long and deep to the point of stealing all breath from her lungs. She pulled him through the doorway and kicked the heavy metal door shut behind them. As they continued to kiss they made their way to the bed until he had her pressed into the mattress with all of his firm muscle. His hard lines met her soft curves and as always with them, they fit. Perfectly and completely. Like the way the ring on her finger seemed perfectly tailored to her.

She pulled back from the kiss suddenly, remembering a question she wanted to ask him.

"Wait, wait," she said as she tilted her head back so his lips met her chin instead of her mouth. "Before I forget you have to tell me about the ring! I—it's perfect. But it's clearly old. Where did it come from?"

He gave her a secretive grin before answering her. "You remember that ring I told you my Grandpa Sherwin kept in the left breast pocket of his uniform?"

Her eyes widened before she held her left hand up to examine the ring more closely. "Wyatt, you can't mean...this was your grandmother's ring?"

He didn't answer her. He didn't have to. He simply leaned forward and kissed one corner of her mouth and then the other before resting his forehead against hers. "He left it to me when he died. He never liked that I didn't give that ring to Jessica, but she was determined it wasn't her style so I bought one I couldn't afford. I used to regret not accepting it from him, but I realized something. I realized this ring has always been meant for you. It has a story that means something - a _history_ \- and its one that you got to see first hand. That can't be a coincidence."

She smirked at him and tried her hardest not to seem smug as she replied. "So, are you saying it's... _fate_?"

His gaze narrowed on her playfully. "If I admit you were right about fate are you going to be annoying about it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said primly with a huge grin.

He rolled his eyes and laughed fondly at her. "Sure you don't."

Lucy smiled warmly at him and then trailed the backs of her fingers along his cheek. "You really gave me your grandmother's ring?"

"It was yours before I ever met you, Luce. I'm sure of that," he said with a small soft smile.

"God, I love you," she said before she yanked his lips back down to hers.

This man was unbelievable. Yes, he made mistakes. So did she. But they put that behind them. They healed each other. And even through the most painful depths of their relationship one thing never changed. Wyatt Logan was truly _good_. The type of good that made a man passionately and recklessly brave. They went through a lot this past year and it was by no means over. Rittenhouse was still out there being partially led by his formerly dead ex-wife. The Journal still hovered over her like a threatening stormcloud. But none of that mattered because against all odds here they still were.

 _Together_.

In every sense of the word, she thought as Wyatt pressed her further into the mattress and her legs wrapped around him. His lips moved from hers to brand a heated trail down her neck, toward dip in the collar of her button up blouse. He undid one button of her blouse at a time, placing a kiss on the bare skin it exposed as he went. He reached the last button and untucked the blouse from the waistband of her jeans. She felt his calloused hands skimming over her shoulders as he pushed the blouse down her arms. Every imperfection he possessed felt perfect to her. Those imperfection would grate on others. She knew her own flaws well and she knew exactly what reaction they caused in all her previous relationships. Wyatt never had any of those same reactions. He valued all of her just as she valued all of him.

She reached for the buttons on his flannel shirt and started working on them as Wyatt deepened the kiss. The feeling of his tongue against hers, exploring every inch of her mouth, was heady and addictive. This wasn't the first time they'd done this and it wouldn't be the last but every time felt like _this_. His kisses and caresses slipped into her bloodstream and left her craving him at every moment. He pulled away from her just long enough to hurriedly take his shirt off and toss it aside. He yanked his t-shirt up and over his head and it joined the flannel on the bunker floor. His lips returned to hers hungrily and his arms went around her. Before she knew what he was up to she felt the clasp of her bra draw tight and then go completely slack. She took care of sliding it off and then broke their unending chain of kisses to sigh contentedly against his lips as her bare chest met his.

"These jeans have got to come off, ma'am," he told her. His tone was hoarse with need.

"Same to you, Soldier," Lucy ordered in a voice that was too husky to be her own.

He stood and removed his jeans and his boxers while she removed her jeans and underwear as she laid on the bed. He kicked his aside and then, before she could do the same, he reached for the jeans around her calves and pulled them off of her. His hands then lightly traced the curves of her smooth pale legs until they could grasp either side of her hips. He gently settled on top of her again and she reflexive wrapped herself around him. That part of him that she needed the most in that moment pressed insistently against her. She shifted and then reached in between them to wrap her hand around him. He hissed and groaned and buried his face in her shoulder. She relished the feeling of his mutual need and the way his lips left hot open mouthed kisses against her shoulder. She ran her thumb over the more than ready tip of him and with his mouth still pressed against her skin he let out a muffled moan.

She guided him to her, to where he would be able to fit and fill her, and he wasted no time pushing in. Slowly, as if he were savoring it. She arched and whimpered as he entered her little by little.

"Luce," he whispered reverently before he captured her lips with his once again.

He moved as they kissed. They only stopped kissing when the pace became too frantic and needy. The closer they came to the edge then the faster and harder he thrust. She moved with him, angling her hips to allow him even deeper into her. She cried out as the pressure began to build and let her nails scrape up and down his back. One hand settled in the hair at the nape of his neck so that she could use it as leverage to bury her head in the curve of his neck. He turned his head and nipped at her throat with a soft bite of his teeth. That very nearly sent her falling over the cliff they'd been rapidly approaching. Then suddenly he stopped. He pulled completely out and thrust in all at once. Hard. The breathless cry that ripped from her throat was completely beyond her control. Two more of those and she was gone. Floating somewhere beyond her body with a stunning burst of starlight and sunshine breaking all over her.

When she came back to herself Wyatt was collapsing on top her. Breathing heavily as she continued to clench around him. Eventually, they both came down from the high of release and entered that languid state of afterglow.

"Fuck, Lucy. That was…"

He couldn't seem to find the word he wanted so his sentence trailed off but Lucy grinned knowingly at him anyway.

"It always is," she replied with a cheeky smirk.

He chuckled deep and low before placing a slow lazy kiss to her lips. Her hands ran up his arms, over his shoulders, and then into his hair as his lips stayed on hers. She would never get tired of this. _Of him_. She never wanted to give him up.

That's when she remembered the ring on her finger.

The ring that meant she would never have to give him up ever again. He was hers. For the rest of their days. Tears sprang to her eyes and she reared back from him with a sunny smile. "We're engaged."

Wyatt laughed at her with an amused expression. "Did that not sink in when I put the ring on your finger?"

"I...no, I knew. I _knew_ , but...it's actually real," she said as she continued to smile.

"Now the question is _when_ ," Wyatt said as he rolled off of her and pulled the covers around the both of them.

When?

That was more difficult. Disheartening, even. Because…

"I don't want to get married in the bunker," she told him softly. "I want to get married out in the open, above ground. I don't want to hide this."

She waited for his disappointed response but it never came.

"Whatever and whenever you want, Lucy," Wyatt assured her with earnest eyes. "I don't care if we get married tomorrow or two years from now, as long as it happens eventually."

He sounded confident and certain. _Honest_. He was telling the truth. He wanted what she wanted. Lucy sighed in relief and then curled further into him. "Thank you."

She couldn't bear the idea of marrying him in secret. She wanted everyone she'd ever met to know this man was hers and she was his. It seemed trivial but she was too proud of him to keep it to herself.

"It's you and me, Lucy, for the rest of our lives. That's all that matters to me." And he meant that. She knew he did.

"That's all the matters to me too," She told him before placing a chaste kiss to his lips. "Merry Christmas, Wyatt."

"Merry Christmas, Lucy."


End file.
